Strike in the public service: garbage disposal and traffic stand still!

Strike in the public service: garbage disposal and traffic stand still!

warning strikes in the public service of NRW have been announced for the coming days. From March 10 to March 15, 2025, the employees of USB Bochum GmbH and other waste disposal companies in Essen, Oberhausen and Mülheim are affected. According to reports from WDR, the strikes are the longest in years and have a significant impact on garbage disposal.

In the cities concerned, the emptying of residual waste, organic and paper bins is exposed to emptying. In addition, all planned bulky waste dates fail. The recycling centers are also closed and the street cleaning does not take place during this time. However, the companies concerned are trying to find solutions to contain the consequences in order to inform the citizens about alternative disposal options.

nationwide warning strike tag

The nationwide warning strike day, which is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, 2025, is particularly explosive. On this day, all areas of the public service are called to participate. This includes city administrations, daycare centers, clinics, savings banks, swimming pools as well as job centers and municipal local transport. For the Cologne Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) it has already been announced that from Wednesday at 3 a.m. there will be no more light rail trips. Stadtbahn lines 16 and 18, which are operated with the Bonn municipal utilities, are also affected by the strikes.

The KVB announced that its company will be resumed on Thursday, March 13, while the customer centers and sales offices remain closed. Deutsche Bahn and other transport companies in Cologne are not affected by the strikes, which offer their passengers S-Bahn, regional trains and regional express trains.

background of the strikes

The strike is initiated by the ver.di union because the employer side has made an inadequate offer. The union calls for a salary increase of 8 % or at least 350 euros additional monthly remuneration. These demands are part of the current public service collective bargaining, which are carried out under a difficult economic situation and a high lack of personnel. The second round of negotiations took place on February 17 and 18, 2025 without agreement, and the next round is to take place in Potsdam from March 14 to 16, 2025.

According to the information from public- service-news , around 2.3 million employees at the federal government and municipalities are affected by the negotiations. The existing collective agreement expires on December 31, 2024, and the unions have emphasized that they also request a transfer of the tariff results to civil servants, judges and soldiers. Ver.di also plans to request further additional free days for relief and higher surcharges for stressful activities.

The preparations for the upcoming strikes have already started and the citizens are asked to adapt to the impending restrictions in public service. The effects of the warning strikes are far -reaching and affect many areas of life that range from disposal to traffic to social institutions.