SeaFrance high and dry during strikeskr’s strike
Ferry Online Travel News 05/04/2010
Passengers travelling to France for the Easter were left stranded after SeaFrance workers’ strike
The SeaFrance ferry company have apologised for the Good Friday travel chaos caused by worker strikes. Passengers in the southeast of England planning to take a trip across the Channel for the Easter weekend were left high and dry on Friday after SeaFrance was forced to cancel services due to a union walk out.
The French ferry operator was unable to provide the scheduled services between Dover and Calais after the workers union CFDT called a member’s strike. Industrial action, which is thought to have been caused by a dispute over working practices, lasted 48 hours, ruining the Easter weekend for many disgruntled passengers.
SeaFrance is claiming that CFDT broke a signed agreement by calling the strike, but apologised profusely for the disruption to passengers. They also advised their customers to book their journey to Calais with another agent before arriving at the port, adding that it was unlikely that passengers could be accommodated on other boats at short notice.
Despite this warning, many SeaFrance passengers still turned up at the port, either unaware that the services had been cancelled or hoping that they would be able to transfer. Services run by other ferry companies were also delayed due to the general confusion.
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