Strike chaos in Essen: No bus and no train on Wednesday!

Strike chaos in Essen: No bus and no train on Wednesday!

On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, numerous employees of the Ruhrbahn in Essen have resigned. This resulted in a complete standstill of bus and rail traffic in the city from the start of operations to the end of the company. Passengers were asked to avoid S-Bahn and regional trains, while a limited range of the Ruhrbahn was available in the evening. In contrast, school buses for sports and swimming lessons as well as minibuses for special needs students were operated as planned.

various passengers were well prepared for the strike. Fewer people stayed at the main train station, most of them had clear alternative plans for their trip. Some buses drove to the neighboring cities of Velbert and Heiligenhaus, while the demand for shuttle buses at the Messe Essen (E-World) was high. Taxist stands were heavily frequented, which indicates that many passengers had to fall back on alternative means of transport, while rental bikes were less used.

effects on the regulatory office and the savings banks

The regulatory office in Essen was also affected by the strikes, although the exact effects are still unclear. Among other things, the ver.di union calls for an increase in wages by 8 % and at least 350 euros more per month, in addition to more free days. Trainees and interns should also benefit from the wage increases. So far, employers, including the federal government and municipalities, have not made any offer in the ongoing collective bargaining.

In the city, 17 out of 27 branches of the Sparkasse are also strike, which leads to the closure of ten branches. However, ATMs are still available. Branches in the city center, Rüttenscheid, Bredeney, Steele, Kupferdreh, Altenessen, Haarzopf, Stadtwaldplatz, Burgaltendorf and Katernberg remain open, while these branches can be partially reached: Borbeck, Kray, Altendorf, Frintrop, Bäuminghausstraße and Kettwig. Closed branches include Witteringstraße, Karnap, Stopenberg, erguhr, Heisingen, become, Memarkenplatz, Steele-Horst, Gervinusplatz, Wasser tower and Dellwig.

regional strikes and collective bargaining

The warning strikes that took place throughout the Ruhr area are part of a larger wave of protest. On February 10th there was already strike in Oberhausen and at the BoGestra, which also had an impact on three lines of the Ruhrbahn in Essen. The next round of negotiation for the collective bargaining regulation for the public service will take place on February 17th and 18th in Potsdam after the first round on January 24th remained without result. The unions have high expectations of the upcoming discussions.

The collective bargaining for the public service is of great importance for employees at the federal and municipalities, since almost 2.3 million employees are directly affected. In addition to wage increases, they also demand flexible working time models and a reduction in weekly working hours for civil servants. The challenges due to lack of personnel and high workload are the focus of the negotiations, since around 500,000 jobs are currently vacant.

The situation remains tense and the unions, especially ver.di, are emphasized for the concerns of the employees in order to achieve an improvement in their working conditions. The negotiations make the economic framework that are tense at the moment and reveal the need for clear solutions.

For further information on the background and the course of the strikes, the reports of Radio Essen , vrr and News