Awwal 22, 1432 H/Feb 25, 2011, SPA -- Germany's train drivers union said it would step up industrial action over a pay dispute, after a three-hour strike on Friday morning hit the country's regional and long-distance networks, Reuters reported. "Our employers have yet to get the message so we need to increase the pressure," the head of the GDL union, Claus Weselsky, said in Frankfurt. Friday's strike was the second this week after a two-hour stoppage on Tuesday that affected rush-hour commuters. The GDL union wants pay scales for drivers at six small rail firms brought into line with those at Deutsche Bahn, as well as a higher wage offer from the state-owned national operator. The collective agreement would affect 26,000 drivers in all. Weselsky said drivers would be balloted within 10 days on holding longer strikes. The stoppages were leading the union "down the road to nowhere", said Ulrich Weber, personnel director at Deutsche Bahn. The operator said recently it had already met nearly all the union's demands and was willing to continue negotiating. The bulk of Germany's workforce has for two years accepted modest pay rises due to the financial crisis, but increasing numbers are now seeking to share in Germany's faster-than- expected economic recovery, leading some economists to fear a wage-price spiral. German consumer inflation held steady in February at its highest rate since October 2008, data showed on Friday, and analysts said they expected it to accelerate in coming months. -- SPA
