German metal workers start walkouts

Several thousand German engineering workers staged brief walkouts on Thursday to step up pressure on employers in a row over pay and working hours.
About 1,000 employees at DaimlerChrysler AG's largest German Mercedes car plant in Sindelfingen, south-western Germany, downed tools for about an hour during the night shift, the IG Metall union said. Plants at other firms across Germany have also been hit.
IG Metall said it will stage stoppages at around 20 factories, including plants belonging to DaimlerChrysler and steel and engineering firm ThyssenKrupp.
Talks were adjourned this week after employers offered IG Metall less than half the four percent the union is demanding.
IG Metall spokeswoman Martina Helmerich said the stoppages, a frequent feature of German wage rounds, should not be seen as setting the tonne for the rest of negotiations.