Doctors in university hospitals are demanding wage increases and restrictions on irregular working hours.
ADVERTISEMENTDoctors at 23 state-owned university hospitals in Germany walked out on Tuesday after failing to reach an agreement with hospital managers in collective bargaining talks.
The Marburger Bund trade union called on several thousand doctors to rally in the northern German city of Hanover in what was billed as a "warning strike."
The union has demanded a 12.5% pay rise and higher bonuses for working nights, weekends and public holidays for some 20 thousand doctors in university hospitals, financed by Germany's 16 federal states.
The action comes after a third round of negotiations with the federal states failed.
Urgent patient care is not expected to be disrupted by the strike, but clinic services may be disrupted, said the union. Some non-urgent operations have also had to be postponed.