A vote among some 20,000 German train drivers on Thursday showed a 91-percent support for more strikes in order to force rail operator Deutsche Bahn to accept higher wages and shorter working hours.

The GDL train drivers' union said a date for the next strike had not been set.

The decision to continue their industrial action followed two warning strikes by train drivers in recent weeks that had crippled Deutsche Bahn's freight and passenger operations.

Confrontation prevails

GDL spokesperson Gerda Seibert said following Thursday's vote that train drivers were sticking to their demands to get a 5-percent wage hike and reduce their weekly working time by two hours to 37 hours.

She said the union also wanted to make sure train drivers received better shift plans without specifying what exactly that entailed.

Shortly before the votes were counted, Deutsche Bahn had submitted another proposal to ward off further strike action. It had suggested suspending negotiations between the union and the employer until the government in Berlin adopted new legislation on collective bargaining in Germany. Deutsche Bahn said it would in the meantime agree to a 2-percent pay hike.

hg/rs (Reuters, dpa)