Strike will affect operations at brown coal generator LEAG, German union says

FRANKFURT, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A German labour union said on Wednesday that a strike on Sept. 1 over workers' pay will affect operations at brown coal miner and power generator LEAG for six hours, although emergency staff will remain in place.

A second round of pay talks at the company, which accounts for a 15.7% share of the Germany's wholesale power market, was abandoned after failing to reach an agreement on fully-consolidated rises.

"Employees need wage increases that have a lasting effect. They will make that clear emphatically on Friday," the IGBCE mining union said in a press release, adding that it was expecting high participation among LEAG's 7,200 staff.

Owned by Czech investor EPH and private equity group PPF Investments, LEAG operates eight gigawatts (GW) of power capacity in eastern Germany and coal mining at the Jaenschwalde, Welzow-Sued, Nochten and Reichwalde sites.

The strike on Friday would start with the 5 a.m. shift (0300 GMT) and culminate with a rally at the Schwarze Pumpe industry park, IGBCE said.

Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Kirsten Donovan

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