Strike chaos in the Ruhr area: buses, lanes and bathrooms remain closed!

Strike chaos in the Ruhr area: buses, lanes and bathrooms remain closed!

In the Middle Ruhr area, public transport is largely paralyzed on Friday, February 28, 2025 due to renewed warning strikes. In cities such as Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Bottrop, Castrop-Rauxel and Herne, buses and trains will not drive, while indoor pools in Bochum and Herne are also closed. The United Service Union (ver.di) has called up the employees of the companies of BESTRA, VESTISH and HCR to the strike in order to increase pressure in the ongoing collective bargaining for the public service. Fortunately, a big event, the home game of FC Schalke 04, will take place with 60,000 expected visitors, for which fans are asked to form carpools and appear early.

The strikes also concern the waste disposal companies in Essen, where employees plan all -day work. The affected areas include garbage disposal, street cleaning and the weekend blocking waste collection. These warning strikes are carried out as part of actions in six federal states in order to draw attention to the precarious working conditions in the public service. The union calls for a wage increase of 8% or at least 350 euros more per month as well as additional free days.

background of the warning strikes

On February 17th and 18th, there was no offer for the public service employees in the second tariff round. Ver.di chairman Christine Behle explained that the employees in local public transport suffer from a high working density, which is further tightened by lack of staff and high sick leave. Over 53,000 employees in 69 companies are affected by the planned warning strikes. This shows how urgently an agreement is required in the collective bargaining.

The demands of ver.di are particularly relevant because the fees in municipal local transport are linked to wage development in the collective agreement for the public service (TVöD). Negotiations are affected by more than 2.5 million employees in the public service, including in administration, in daycare centers, schools, local transport and in garbage businesses. So far, employers have not submitted an offer and refer to their tense financial situation while seeing scope for a fair solution.

further course of the collective bargaining

The next round of negotiations is scheduled for March 14, 2025 in Potsdam. In the first round of negotiations there was already a lot of progress, and the probability is that other warning strikes will be imminent. An agreement seems unlikely at the moment. Ver.di has announced that the savings banks in Mülheim, Oberhausen and Essen also call for work. Workers in various sectors are urgently expecting an adaptation of their wages and working conditions, in particular in view of the challenges that the upcoming pension exits have in the coming years.

The municipalities also warn of warning overloads and lifting the high debt, which also makes negotiations more difficult. The public observes the developments tense because the negotiations take place in a tense political context, especially with a view to the upcoming federal elections.