Local transport in Germany hit by walkouts in a dispute over working conditions

Local buses, trams and subway trains were canceled in much of Germany on Friday as transport employees walked off the job in the country's third transport-related strike in two weeks. Its deputy chair, Christine Behle, said that “the time has now come to exert more pressure on employers” as talks on new pay contracts for about 90,000 people employed by over 130 local transport operators have failed to make progress. In Berlin, workers with the local transport authority walked off the job until 10 a.m.; in Hamburg, Cologne, Hannover and elsewhere, the strike was to last all day.