The Verdi union is calling for strike action on Friday.
Local public transport is also on strike in six federal states and several cities.
All news in the news ticker.
Bus and train are canceled: strike chaos in several federal states and cities
Before warning strikes on Friday: Verdi boss threatens ballot vote on public sector strike
Munich subways and trams are at a standstill: the strike is to be continued on Friday
Update from March 3, 7:55 a.m .:
Anyone who has to use public transport to go to work or school today has a problem.
In numerous federal states, the Verdi union has called for strikes in local public transport.
In many cities, buses, subways and trams have come to a standstill.
Overall, there should be massive impairments in six federal states.
The main areas affected are Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Saxony, Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate.
Local public transport is almost completely paralyzed for 24 hours.
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Strike participants with Verdi flags in Kassel.
© Swen Pförtner/dpa
The German employers criticize that the warning strike is taking place on the day of the Fridays for Future climate strike.
"Verdi's announcement that it would paralyze and block traffic in large parts of Germany together with the organization Fridays for Future is a dangerous crossing of borders," said the chief executive of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), Steffen Kampeter, of the dpa in Berlin.
Kampeter said: "Strikes are allowed to achieve collective agreements that regulate working conditions." Demonstrations could be aimed at very different goals.
"But anyone who mixes labor disputes and general political goals quickly ends up on a playing field beyond our collective bargaining autonomy." Political or even quasi-political strikes are simply illegal in Germany.
Kampeter called on the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) to "distance from this border crossing".
Strike chaos in several federal states and cities: bus and train are canceled
Update from March 2, 4:40 p.m .:
The Verdi union is planning warning strikes in local public transport in six federal states and some cities for 24 hours this Friday.
The action is to take place together with the climate activists from Fridays for Future, who are calling for a global climate strike on Friday.
Verdi wants to increase the pressure on employers in the public sector.
If the next wage round at the end of March remains unsuccessful, union boss Werneke is now even threatening to hold a ballot on regular strikes.
That would extend the collective bargaining conflict well into the spring, Werneke told the German Press Agency on Wednesday in Gelsenkirchen at the edge of a rally on the nationwide warning strike day for trainees and dual students.
According to Verdi, around 1,000 participants had come to the rally by noon.
In this case, he would not expect much from arbitration, said Werneke when asked.
"I don't know what should come out of an arbitration that you couldn't achieve in direct negotiations."
Strike today: Munich subways and trams are at a standstill - strike is to be continued on Friday
Update from March 2, 4:15 p.m .:
Due to a warning strike by the Verdi union, local public transport in Munich has largely come to a standstill.
The subway and tram did not initially go into operation on Thursday.
During the course of the day, the U6 was open until the early afternoon and the tram 20 until the evening, according to the municipal transport company MVG.
About every second bus vehicle was in use, but individual lines were completely canceled.
The S-Bahn and regional trains operated by Deutsche Bahn were not affected by the warning strike.
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Passengers board a subway train at a station.
The subway and tram in Munich did not initially go into operation on Thursday.
(archive image)
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
The MVG appealed to the residents of the state capital on Thursday morning to use other means of transport.
Many employees apparently switched to cars, and the Google Maps map service showed major traffic jams on several main roads early on.
There were also numerous cyclists on the road in the morning.
The strike is to be continued in Munich today on Friday and extended to other Bavarian cities throughout the day.
There are corresponding calls for Nuremberg - with effects on Fürth and Erlangen -, Augsburg, Regensburg, Ingolstadt, Bamberg and Bayreuth.
Verdi is demanding a hefty wage increase of 10.5 percent, but at least 500 euros a month, and in Munich the takeover of the Bavarian regional transport tariff by MVG.
Strike today: Verdi announces massive industrial action in local public transport
First report from March 1:
The Verdi union wants to paralyze local public transport in numerous cities in several federal states on Friday with warning strikes.
Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Saxony, Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate are particularly affected, as the union announced in Berlin on Tuesday.
Actions are also planned in individual cities such as Munich.
The strikes are intended to increase the pressure in collective bargaining for the local and federal public sector.
The warning strikes are to take place at the same time as a global climate strike by the climate movement Fridays for Future this Friday.
"We want to combine the global climate strike day with the 200 actions of Fridays for Future with warning strikes in local public transport," said Deputy Verdi boss Christine Behle.
"A traffic turnaround will not be possible without investing in employees as well."
In the negotiations for the approximately 2.5 million federal and local employees, the Verdi union and the civil servants' association dbb are demanding 10.5 percent more income, but at least 500 euros more per month.
No agreement was reached in the second round of negotiations last week.
The unions had rejected an offer from the employers as insufficient.
(lma/dpa)
List of rubrics: © Swen Pförtner/dpa
