Berlin, April 2 (RHC)-- Thousands of mail deliverers across Germany staged an hours-long strike to demand a cut in their working hours. The industrial action was held on Wednesday in response to a call by the trade union Verdi, which said it created a significant disruption to letter and parcel deliveries.

Verdi wants mail deliverers’ standard working hours to be cut from 38.5 to 36 hours weekly, while their pay remains unchanged in a move that effectively increases hourly rates. The demand comes as Germany’s national mail company, Deutsche Post, has delegated some parcel deliveries to a subsidiary which pays lower hourly rates to its staff.

It is not the first time that Germany has been hit with strikes in recent months. On March 12, public service workers in

Germany went on a strike over their wages. The walkout, which was also called by Verdi, was joined by hospital workers, teachers and other public sector employees in four other German states.

Last year, pilots at Germany’s main airline, Lufthansa, staged a series of industrial actions in a dispute with the German flag carrier’s management over retirement arrangements. Back in February, pilots at Lufthansa’s low-cost subsidiary, Germanwings, also went on strike over management plans to change the pilots’ transitional pension arrangements.