Strikes Get Germans’ Attention

A rich society used to precision and order stood aghast Monday as garbage piled up in streets, mail delivery halted and transportation collapsed so dramatically that even bike paths were marred by traffic jams.

Germany’s public employees, demanding higher wages to cope with the costs of unification, opened what they said would be a week of unprecedented walkouts by idling buses, streetcars and trains throughout the western portion of the nation.

Scattered strikes in other sectors hindered or halted mail delivery, garbage pickup, shipping traffic and air transportation.

The public employees union is demanding a 9.5% pay increase to compensate for 4.7% inflation and tax increases imposed last year to bail out the troubled eastern region.

Government agencies say they cannot afford the increases sought by their workers, and economists warned of inflation.