(Adds total number of workers, public sector negotiations)
FRANKFURT/POTSDAM, April 29 (Reuters) - More than 100,000 workers in the German metals and electrical industries staged walkouts across the country on Friday after labour union IG Metall rejected a wage offer for the 3.8 million employees it represents.
IG Metall union turned down an offer from employers for a wage rise of 2.1 percent, saying it fell too far short of its demand for a 5 percent increase.
"The 2.1 percent over 24 months still keep workers on a restricted diet in favour of profits. Economic growth is ignored," said Knut Giesler, a regional leader at IG Metall in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state.
IG Metall union said on Thursday that warning strikes would continue into the coming week, adding that it would start 24-hour strikes if no agreement was reached by the Pentecost holiday in mid-May.
In the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, the home of car brands Porsche and Mercedes, more than 37,000 workers from over 150 companies joined walkouts on Friday, the union said.
Around 17,000 workers at companies including industrial group Thyssenkrupp and carmaker Daimler took part in industrial action in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Overall, nearly 110,000 workers joined the walkouts and participated in industrial action, IG Metall said.
PUBLIC SECTOR DEAL NEAR
In a separate wage dispute in the public sector, sources said negotiators in Potsdam near Berlin were close to a deal.
Both sides agreed on a two-stage wage increase for more than 2 million public sector employees at federal and municipal level, two people familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.
They said the deal included a pay hike of 2.4 percent for this year, starting retroactively on March 1, and another increase of 2.35 percent, starting next February.
The unions had initially demanded a pay hike of 6 percent for 12 months while public sector employers had offered a wage increase of 3 percent over two years.
Since German consumer prices are barely rising, the deal would mean that employees will actually have more money in their pockets to spend, in a further boost to purchasing power.
Strong domestic demand has replaced exports as the main pillar of support in Europe's largest economy, with private consumption expected to help propel growth this year. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan in Frankfurt and Thorsten Severin in Potsdam; Writing by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Ed Osmond and Hugh Lawson)