Huge demo on May 1st: Unions are calling for tariff loyalty law in NRW!

Huge demo on May 1st: Unions are calling for tariff loyalty law in NRW!

On May 1, 2025, around 70 events of the unions will be held in North Rhine-Westphalia, with tens of thousands of participants being expected on the streets and squares. The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) has clearly positioned itself as the largest umbrella organization of individual unions in Germany: the main claim is to introduce a law on collective bargaining in North Rhine -Westphalia. This law is intended to only award public contracts to companies paying tariffs in order to strengthen the collective bargaining in the Region and to improve competitive conditions. Tageschau.de reports that the DGB in NRW wants to fight against the existing investment backlog, whereby planned investments in key areas such as seems, schools, Housing, social security, digitization and climate protection should flow.

The DGB state chief Anja Weber addressed clear words to NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) at a DGB rally in Siegburg. She not only called for a law on collective bargaining for the country and municipalities, but also reminded him of the prior notice of such a law a year ago. Their impatience regarding the implementation is noticeable, precisely because according to DGB, only 51 percent of employees in NRW still work under a collective agreement. Noz.de emphasizes that weber wants to make the tariff binding as an advantage for companies, by resistance, to reduce.

political reactions and rallies

During the central rally in Siegburg, Wüst emphasized the need to work with the unions to secure jobs. He spoke out for a “west reconstruction” of the dilapidated infrastructure and praised the special fund of the federal government. Despite these positive approaches, however, he gave the desire for his own tariff loyalty law for NRW and signals a preferred coordination with the upcoming federal government.

In Cologne, around 4,500 people demonstrated, where IG Metall board member Hans-Jürgen Urban brought up the critical situation at Ford. Other significant rallies took place in cities such as Gelsenkirchen, Hamm, Solingen, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Münster, Recklinghausen, Aachen and Essen. Around 500 participants were reported in Remscheid in the morning. This broadly created mobilization shows the strongly pronounced social interest in the topics of social justice and working conditions.

The holiday and its importance

May 1st in North Rhine-Westphalia is officially referred to as the "day of confession to freedom and peace, social justice, reconciliation of people and human dignity", which represents a delimitation to the conventional "day". The DGB, which combines a total of 5.6 million members in eight unions such as IG Metall and Verdi, has been fighting the membership loss for years and is a strong voice for the workers' interests on this holiday.

Overall, rallies and political speeches reflect on the current challenges in the world of work and the importance of solidarity structures in North Rhine-Westphalia. Tagesschau.de and Noz.de document the broad participation in these protests and the political reactions that the urgent needed Want to initiate reforms in the social and economic sector.