2023-12-21 19:39:04
The Eurotunnel unions announced on Thursday the end of the surprise strike that began at midday and the reopening “this evening” of the Channel tunnel. The closure of this axis linking France to England caused panic in several European stations.
The unions highlighted “result-bearing” discussions with their management, without giving more details on what they obtained. “This agreement allows the gradual resumption of LeShuttle rail shuttle traffic from this evening and Eurostar tomorrow,” responded the management of Getlink, of which Eurotunnel is a subsidiary.
French Eurotunnel employees went on strike at midday on Thursday, causing the closure of the tunnel and the complete interruption of service.
Result: Eurostar canceled 30 trains departing from Paris, London and Brussels on Thursday. The shuttles carrying cars and trucks into the tunnel also remained blocked in Calais and Folkestone.
“This strong mobilization is not a surprise,” declared earlier in the day the intersydicale, bringing together the six Eurotunnel unions (FO, CGT, Sud-Rail, CFE-CGC, CFDT and SACDC), in a communicated. “For several months, all union organizations combined have alerted general management to the terrible deterioration of the social climate,” she writes.
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Rush to the plane
According to management, the unions had demanded a tripling of the 1000 euro bonus promised to them. Employees also denounced the deterioration of working conditions and a change of mentality in the company.
As soon as the cancellation of the trains was announced, the many travelers who planned to return to France or Belgium for the holidays from London rushed to their phones to try to change their ticket for the next day, or to book in a hurry. one of the flights still available from London.
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 lines of vehicles, lasting more than a kilometer, formed shortly following the announcement. of the closure of the tunnel.
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