Munich - A strike over pay crippled public transport in Munich and seven other cities in the southern German state of Bavaria on Tuesday, union officials said.

Up to 900 workers walked off their jobs at the start of the early shift, affecting subway, tram and bus services, a spokesman for the service union Verdi said.

In Munich, public transport authorities operated a skeleton service of 200 buses provided by private operators as subway stations remained closed throughout the morning.

The union is seeking a pay increase of 9.5 per cent for the 6,500 employees of the Bavarian communal transport association.

The work stoppage was expected to last until the afternoon in Munich but was scheduled to extend into the evening in Nuremberg, Augsburg and other cities.

A separate pay dispute involving public service employees was expected to hit schools, clinics and council offices in the states of Saxony, Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. (dpa)