Some 13 million letters and parcels remained undelivered across Germany today due to a series of rolling strikes by 3,500 postal employees, union officials said.
Members of the service sector union Ver.di, working for the semi-privatised German postal authority, Deutsche Post, have staged a series of walkouts since Tuesday.
The northern cities of Bremen and Hamburg have been most affected by the industrial campaign along, with the states of Bavaria and Schelswig-Holstein.
Ver.di is calling for a wage increase of 6.5 per cent for about 160,000 of Deutsche Post's 240,000-strong workforce.
The other 80,000 employees are not included because they are classified as civil servants in the semi-privatised company's pay structure.
Deutsche Post's management has yet to table a specific offer, but has dismissed the union's demands as unrealistic.
Both parties are due to resume talks on Monday.
AFP