Deutsche Telekom and union negotiators resumed talks hoping to end a month-long strike over a plan to transfer workers to a new services unit and cut pay.

Some 13,000 workers staged strikes even as the talks began, according to the ver.di service workers union.

Ado Wilhelm, a union official leading the strike effort, said that it would be Friday at the earliest before the number of striking workers might be reduced significantly.

“We’ll first wait to see how the negotiations go,” Wilhelm said.

Deutsche Telekom did grant one concession ahead of the talks, agreeing to delay letters to some 50,000 workers officially informing them of the transfer plans.

Ver.di had sought the delay before resuming the talks with the company.

The union authorized a strike on May 10 after talks collapsed over Deutsche Telekom’s plans to transfer thousands of workers to a new T-Services operation, with lower pay and longer hours. The union also seeks a guarantee against layoffs.

Ver.di decided to return to talks after Deutsche Telekom’s personnel chief proposed bonuses to offset pay cuts.

Deutsche Telekom wants to transfer as many as 50,000 staffers from its fixed-line unit into three new service units, covering call centers, technical services and infrastructure.

In April, the company said it wanted to trim wages by 12% over a two-and-a-half year period, and pledged to forestall any layoffs until the end of 2011 at the earliest. The move, Deutsche Telekom said, would help it cut costs by 500 million euros ($667 million) to 900 million euros ($1.2 billion).

Ver.di wants to block the lower salaries and extend the no-layoff guarantee until the end of 2013.

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