Waste Collection Strike Disrupts Services for 500,000 in Lille During Holiday Season

Waste collection services across the Lille metropolitan area have been severely disrupted by an ongoing strike affecting approximately 500,000 residents during the festive season. Since December 22, employees of Deverra, the company responsible for waste management in 52 of the 95 municipalities within the Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL), have been on indefinite strike demanding improved pay and working conditions.

The striking workers seek a 3% salary increase and a hardship bonus of €600. Deverra, however, has only offered a €100 bonus, prompting a majority workforce participation in the strike, with union CGT reporting up to 95% engagement, while Deverra estimated 65% on December 23. As a result, only 20% of the scheduled waste collections have been completed to date, according to MEL on December 29.

Deverra criticized the strike as illegal and revealed it has deployed workers from other regions to mitigate disruption, a measure it describes as a legal temporary solution. Meanwhile, MEL has urged residents to store bulky waste temporarily and utilize local recycling centers until normal services resume.

This strike highlights growing tensions around labor conditions in public service delivery at a sensitive time of year, directly impacting hundreds of thousands of people in Lille.