German Labor Unrest Spreads to Transport

Transport workers struck in several cities Monday as industrial unrest spread from the engineering industry to the public sector.

Bus and train drivers in the industrial heartland of North Rhine-Westphalia prevented thousands of workers from getting to their jobs on time. Protest stoppages lasted for several hours.

The action, in response to employer calls for a wage freeze and benefit cuts, was the latest in a series of disputes over pay and job security hitting the German economy as it struggles to emerge from recession.