Moneymakers in W. Germany Strike for More Money

The men and women responsible for producing much of West Germany’s money walked out on strike on Wednesday over pay and work hours, a union spokesman said.

Employees at the Bundesdruckerei--the state-run printing concern that produces banknotes, passports and identity cards--began an indefinite strike to press demands for a 5% raise and a cut in hours.

The West German central bank, the Bundesbank, said citizens need not fear a shortage of money.

“We also print banknotes at a number of other private printers, and in any case we have an ample stockpile,” a spokesman said.

A spokesman for the strikers’ trade union said the strike was “100% solid.” The Bundesdruckerei employs about 3,700 people at three plants.