2023-12-21 19:51:08
A strike at Getlink, the private company which manages the Channel Tunnel, led to the cancellation of all Eurostar trains to and from London on Thursday. In total, 30 trains were canceled from Paris, London and Brussels. An agreement was reached with the unions this Thursday at the end of the day, traffic resumes this evening for freight shuttles, and tomorrow for the Eurostar. Six additional Paris-London connections will be added over three days: Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“We managed to find a balanced agreement with management so that all traffic might resume. Everyone is going back to work,” confides a trade unionist. Eurotunnel “welcomes this agreement” which “allows the gradual resumption of rail shuttle traffic LeShuttle from this evening and tomorrow on the Eurostar. “. “It’s impossible to resume from the moment the strike ends. It’s always very complicated to put the trains back into circulation when everything has been frozen for hours,” explains Eurostar management, while many travelers find themselves in complicated situations as the holidays approach.
GetLink employees, who are not subject to the declaration of intention to strike, like the railway workers for example, had started this strike without warning. “This strong mobilization is not a surprise,” declared the inter-union, bringing together the six Eurotunnel unions (FO, CGT, Sud-Rail, CFE-CGC, CFDT and SACDC), in a press release. “For several months, all union organizations combined have alerted general management to the terrible deterioration of the social climate,” she writes.
Unions demand a bonus of 3,000 euros
“On December 15, we announced that we would pay a value sharing bonus of 1,000 euros. Immediately, the unions demanded 3,000 euros, but that is not possible for us,” says an internal source at Getlink. The Channel Tunnel concessionaire points to fierce competition from “three foreign ferry companies”, which are eating away at market share.
“We need to remain competitive,” notes this same source. The unions highlight the “record results” achieved by the company. “We believe that employees have the right to take their share,” insists this trade unionist. In this case, GetLink recorded 1.4 billion euros in turnover over the first nine months of the year. “But between turnover and net profit, there is a difference,” we argue to management.
In order to find a quick way out of the crisis, management received the inter-union meeting at 4:30 p.m. At 6 p.m., the unions “awaited the return of the general director with consolidated proposals”. “We are hopeful that he understands the anger. We obviously hope to be able to find a way out quickly, confides this trade unionist. The ball is in management’s court. “. The outcome finally took place late Thursday followingnoon.
Eurostar: “We are the first victims”
“We are the first victims of this unexpected movement,” Eurostar management regrets. We hope that a solution will be found as quickly as possible to ensure this special and important weekend in the best conditions. » Eurostar allowed all impacted users to exchange their ticket free of charge or obtain a refund, “even though we are not responsible”.
“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 vacation departures in good conditions,” wrote French Minister of Transport Clément Beaune on his X account (ex-Twitter).
The sudden announcement of the cancellation of trains to the continent at St Pancras station in London early Thursday followingnoon caused panic among all passengers waiting for their train. The station’s reception and security officers – who seemed equally caught off guard – even had to remove passengers who had already passed security checks and were waiting on the platform.
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 the British capital.
“I don’t know the strikers’ demands, 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, Editor’s note) with the children. We’re thinking of taking the ferry from Dover to Calais, but we need a car for that. It’s just too stressful. You cannot improvise a car trip with three children, you have to prepare,” enraged Sam Boyal, a British traveler who remained at the dock.
“Christmas weekend seems compromised”
At the Gare du Nord in Paris, Eurostar employees announced on a megaphone that all trains for the rest of the day were canceled. Manon had to go to London with her boyfriend for the Christmas weekend. “All the trains tomorrow are full and it’s not even certain that they will run. The plane, at the last minute, is unthinkable. It’s several hundred euros. I do not know how to do. The Christmas weekend, it seems compromised,” laments 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 return trip to London to meet his 6-year-old daughter whom he only sees once or twice a year. “600 euros for the trains for the return trip over 4 days, I have to go to London, by any means, I never see my little one,” he rages. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but we have no solution,” SNCF staff repeats to travelers.
In the station, there is no crowd, mostly incomprehension. English travelers chat with staff for information. “We learned at 4 p.m. of the cancellation of our train scheduled for 8 p.m. 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 though it is cheaper. That will teach us. We are told this evening that we will not have a train until tomorrow, without certainty,” laments the fifty-year-old.
“I had made my passport on purpose,” laments 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 regarding taking a train to Bordeaux 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 regarding it, keeps the room for us, but we’re going to have to pay…” explains Nicole. Ed Basham, a 31-year-old British man who came to visit his girlfriend in Paris, shared his anger: “I’m going to have to sleep at friends’ houses tonight while waiting to find a solution.”
“It’s a total blur”
The strike also paralyzes travelers who had a connection. Steven and his two friends, on vacation in Paris, were scheduled to take a train to London, then a plane back home to San Francisco tomorrow at 1 p.m. “It’s dead,” they whisper. We try to call the airline to ask them to find us a flight from Paris. But it doesn’t come to anything at the moment. Everything is sold out before Christmas. It’s a total blur. »
The Lille-Europe station was much quieter. Santiago Rodriguez, a Mexican on vacation with his family in Europe, was preparing to find another solution to reach London. “Now we are going to Brussels. It’s horrible to ruin our plans like this,” he said. The situation was all the more confusing as messages in English suggested a resumption of traffic around 4 p.m.
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, were beginning to form.
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