German talks aim to stop strike

The union is officially calling for an 8% pay rise

Germany's biggest industrial trade union and some of the country's largest companies are meeting to try to prevent a full strike over pay.

IG Metall, whose 3.6 million members work for firms including carmakers Audi, Daimler and BMW, wants to secure them an 8% pay rise.

The firms are so far only offering 2.1% plus a one-off payment of 0.8%.

About 10,000 IG Metall members briefly walked out in Nuremberg on Tuesday ahead of the latest talks.

The union said it could hold a vote on 13 November for a full countrywide strike that could start as little as four days later.

While IG Metall is officially still calling for an 8% rise, reports say that union leader Berthold Huber has already indicated he will accept less.

IG Metall also represents workers in the electrical, textile, plastic, wood, and metal industries.

The talks are expected to last well into Tuesday night.