FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German services union Verdi has called on employees at Deutsche Bank (>> Deutsche Bank AG) unit Postbank (>> Deutsche Postbank AG) to strike for an indefinite period in a dispute over job guarantees, the union said on Sunday.

A large number of Postbank branches around Germany will remain closed from next week, Verdi said in a statement, adding that it was prepared for a prolonged walkout period.

Verdi has said in the past it would not agree to a pay deal without reassurances on jobs, given that Deutsche Bank is planning a divestment of its retail operations. [ID:nL5N0XF06R]

Germany’s flagship bank plans to decide on a major restructuring as early as Thursday and has decided to jettison its Postbank arm to raise capital and retreat from German retail banking, a low-profit battlefield.

"We are ready and determined to enforce safety in a period of change," Verdi board member Christoph Meister said.

Verdi is seeking a prolongation of job guarantees until 2020 for the 9,500 employees of Postbank Filialvertrieb AG and a further 2,700 staff at Postbank AG, Firmenkunden AG and BHW Group.

For branch office workers, Verdi is also seeking a 5 percent pay rise over 12 months.

(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Stocks treated in this article : Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Postbank AG