2024-10-06 03:35:33
A strike at Getlink, the private company that runs the Channel Tunnel, led to the cancellation of all Eurostar trains to and from London on Thursday. In total, 30 trains from Paris, London and Brussels were cancelled. The agreement with the unions was reached at the end of the day on Thursday, traffic will resume this evening for the freight shuttles and tomorrow for the Eurostars. Six additional Paris-London connections will be added over three days: Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“We managed to find a balanced agreement with the management so that all traffic could resume. Everyone goes back to work”, confides a trade unionist. Eurotunnel “welcomes this agreement” which “allows the gradual resumption of rail shuttle traffic LeShuttle from tonight and tomorrow on the Eurostar. “. “It is impossible to resume from the moment the strike ends. It is always very complicated to put trains back into circulation when everything is frozen for hours,” explains the management of Eurostar, while many travelers find themselves in complicated situations as the deadlines approach vacation.
GetLink employees, who are not subject to the declaration of intent to strike, such as railway workers, began the strike without warning. “This strong mobilization is not a surprise,” the inter-union association bringing together the six Eurotunnel unions (FO, CGT, Sud-Rail, CFE-CGC, CFDT and SACDC) said in a statement. “For several months, all trade union organizations together have alerted the general management of the terrible deterioration of the social climate,” he writes.
The unions are asking for a bonus of 3 thousand euros
“On December 15th we announced that we would pay a sharing bonus worth 1,000 euros. The unions immediately asked for 3,000 euros, but it’s not possible for us,” an internal source tells Getlink. The Channel Tunnel concessionaire highlights strong competition from “three foreign ferry companies”, which are eroding market share.
“We must remain competitive”, underlines the same source. The unions highlight the “record results” achieved by the company. “We believe that workers have the right to take their share,” insists the trade unionist. In this case GetLink recorded a turnover of 1.4 billion euros in the first nine months of the year. “But there is a difference between turnover and net profit”, we argue to the management.
To find a quick way out of the crisis, the management received the inter-union meeting at 4.30 pm. At 6pm the unions “awaited the return of the general director with consolidated proposals”. “We hope he understands the anger. We obviously hope to be able to find a way out quickly, confides the trade unionist. The ball is in management’s court. “. The result finally arrived late Thursday afternoon.
Eurostar: “We are the first victims”
“We are the first victims of this unexpected movement”, regrets the management of Eurostar. We hope that a solution will be found as quickly as possible to guarantee this special and important weekend in the best conditions. » Eurostar has allowed all affected users to exchange their ticket for free or get a refund, “even if we are not responsible”.
“The blocking of the Channel Tunnel is unacceptable. We need to find a solution immediately. I’m committed. I invite everyone to be responsible, to ensure traffic and holiday departures in good conditions,” wrote French Transport Minister Clément Beaune on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
The sudden announcement of the cancellation of trains to the continent at St Pancras station in London early on Thursday afternoon caused panic among all passengers waiting for their train. The station’s reception and security staff, who seemed equally taken by surprise, even had to turn away passengers who had already passed through security and were waiting on the platform.
As soon as the train cancellations were announced, many travelers who were planning to return to France or Belgium for holidays from London rushed to their phones to try to change their ticket for the next day, or to book the train in haste and fury. one of the flights still available from the British capital.
“I don’t know the attackers’ requests, so I can’t judge their merits. But the fact that there was no warning during the holiday period is not correct”, says a user on X. “We had to go to Disneyland (near Paris, ed.) with the children. We are thinking of taking the ferry from Dover to Calais, but for that we need a car. It’s just too stressful. You can’t improvise a car trip with three kids, you have to prepare,” infuriated Sam Boyal, a British traveler stuck at the pier.
“The Christmas weekend seems compromised”
At the Gare du Nord in Paris, Eurostar employees announced into a megaphone that all trains for the rest of the day had been cancelled. Manon was due to go to London with her boyfriend for the Christmas weekend. “Tomorrow all the trains are full and it’s not even safe for them to run. The plane, at the last minute, is unthinkable. That’s several hundred euros. I don’t know how to do it. The Christmas weekend seems compromised,” complains the 25-year-old Parisian to Le Parisien.
Jérémy has tears in his eyes. This Parisian, a young father, had saved up to afford a trip back to London to meet his 6-year-old daughter whom he only sees once or twice a year. “600 euros for trains for the return journey in 4 days, I have to go to London, by any means, I never see my little one,” she rages. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but we don’t have a solution,” SNCF staff repeat to travellers.
In the station there is no crowd, above all misunderstanding. British travelers chat with staff for information. “We learned at 4pm that our train scheduled for 8pm had been cancelled. It’s a shame,” confides Nicole, a British woman who came to spend two days in Paris with her son. “We favored the train and not the plane even if it is cheaper. This will teach us. This evening we are told that we won’t have the train until tomorrow, without certainty”, complains the fifty-year-old.
“I had gotten the passport on purpose,” complains Catherine, 80, visibly disappointed and upset because she was unable to join her son in London. Travelers had, as in London, their eyes glued to their smartphones to find alternative routes. “We are thinking of taking a train to Bordeaux and then a plane to London. Or a train to Calais and then the ferry. What is certain is that we will spend the night here. Our hotel knows this, they will keep the room for us, but we will have to pay…” explains Nicole. Ed Basham, a 31-year-old Englishman who came to visit his girlfriend in Paris, expressed his anger: “Tonight I will have to sleep at a friend’s house while waiting to find a solution.”
“It’s total confusion”
The strike also paralyzes travelers who had a connection. Steven and his two friends, on holiday in Paris, were due to take a train to London, then a plane home to San Francisco at 1pm tomorrow. “He’s dead,” they whisper. We try calling the airline to ask them to find us a flight from Paris. But for the moment nothing is achieved. It’s sold out before Christmas. It’s total confusion. »
The Lille-Europa station was much quieter. Santiago Rodriguez, a Mexican on holiday with his family in Europe, was preparing to find another solution to reach London. “Now let’s go to Brussels. It’s horrible to ruin our plans like this,” he said. The situation was even more confusing as messages in English suggested a resumption of traffic around 4pm.
In Calais, at the entrance to the French terminal where cars and trucks board trains to reach Folkestone on the other side of the strait, long queues of vehicles, more than a kilometer long, began to form.
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