Europe Tunnel Reopens After Employee Strike: Additional Trains Added

2023-12-22 07:11:34

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The surprise strike by Eurotunnel employees on Thursday followingnoon caused the cancellation of 30 Eurostars. To compensate, the company announced the addition of six additional trains from this Friday to Sunday.

A sigh of relief for travelers. The Channel Tunnel was able to reopen Thursday evening, following a surprise strike by Eurotunnel employees, which led to its closure Thursday followingnoon and created panic in several European stations. LeShuttle rail shuttle traffic was able to resume normally on Thursday evening, as was rail freight train traffic. As for Eurostar – these high-speed trains linking London to Paris and Brussels – their circulation resumed this Friday morning.

«The Eurotunnel staff strike has ended. We anticipate normal traffic to/from London on 22/12/23, as well as the addition of trains», wrote Eurostar on X (formerly Twitter) late Thursday evening. The company, a subsidiary of SNCF, confirmed a few hours later “the addition of additional trains to and from London on December 22, 23 and 24», «in order to give as many passengers as possible affected by the strike the opportunity to travel before Christmas“. It must add a total of six additional trains, following being forced to cancel 30 on Thursday. The company said it would reimburse all travelers whose trains were canceled.

It was a surprise strike by French employees of Eurotunnel, a subsidiary of the Getlink group, which caused the closure of the Channel tunnel on Thursday at midday, when the first departures for the Christmas holidays took place. The social movement led to “the complete interruption of service and the closure of our terminals in France and the United Kingdom“, Getlink said in a press release on Thursday. Result: no Eurostar might use the structure and the shuttles carrying cars and trucks were also blocked.

Read alsoAfter twenty years on the edge, the ex-Eurotunnel has found its balance

An “unacceptable” strike for Clément Beaune

«The union organizations rejected the exceptional bonus of 1,000 euros announced at the end of the year by management and called for a strike to demand a tripling of it.», Specified the management. Finally, this unexpected walkout which ended around 7:30 p.m., the unions announcing the end of the strike. “If the company’s employees are returning to their jobs, it is because the negotiations that we fiercely conducted during the day with general management brought results that satisfy us», declared Franck Herent, Force Ouvrière (FO) delegate, following a meeting with management. The management and representatives of the trade union organizationsreached an agreement today», confirmed Thursday evening Eurotunnel in a press release, renewing “ses excuses» to users. Neither party has given details of the agreement.

Thursday, in the middle of the followingnoon, the French Minister of Transport called for finding “immediately» a solution to this surprise strike deemed “unacceptable». «The blocking of the Channel Tunnel is unacceptable. A solution must be found immediately. I am committed to it. I call on everyone to be responsible, to ensure traffic and departures on vacation in good conditions», had written Clément Beaune on his X account. According to information from Parisian, the minister put pressure on Eurotunnel management to let go. Following the announcement of the end of the strike, Clément Beaune greeted onthe spirit of responsibility of all stakeholders».

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.

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