Port workers strike in Le Havre: How are ferries affected?

A port workers’ union has announced three days of strikes in Normandy this week to protest the pension reform and unpaid bonuses. We look at how the strikes will affect travel.

The national port workers’ union La Fédération Nationale de la CGT Ports et Docks will strike at the ports of Le Havre and Rouen on February 5, 7 and 9.

The union says that overtime and bonus pay has been “suspended since October 1, 2023” and claims that the government had failed to deliver on its promise to include certain exceptions for port workers in the 2023 pension reforms.

They are demanding that their bonus pay for work at night be reinstated, expressing their opposition to the government’s pension reform and drawing attention to the need for investment in the ports.

Workers are set to strike on:

• February 5: from 11:00 to 15:00
• February 7: all day
• February 9: from 11:00 to 15:00

The action primarily affects container shipping, however since the strike concerns bonus pay for overtime hours, several ferries with late sailings have also been cancelled.

Brittany ferries is the only company impacted, in particular the sailings on:

• Monday, February 5: Portsmouth to Le Havre (departs 14:30, arrives 21:30) - CANCELLED
• Tuesday, February 6: Portsmouth to Le Havre (departs 14:30, arrives 21:30) - CANCELLED
• Tuesday, February 6: Le Havre to Portsmouth (departs 00:01, arrives 07:00) - CANCELLED
• Wednesday, February 7: Portsmouth to Le Havre (departs 14:30, arrives 21:30) - CANCELLED
• Wednesday, February 7: Le Havre to Portsmouth (departs 00:01, arrives 07:00) - CANCELLED
• Thursday, February 8: Portsmouth to Le Havre (departs 14:30, arrives 21:30) - CANCELLED
• Thursday, February 8: Le Havre to Portsmouth (departs 00:01, arrives 07:00) - CANCELLED

‘Pension reform must not apply to port workers’

France’s controversial pension reform law, which saw large-scale strikes last year, came into force on September 1, 2023.

It introduced a gradual increase of the minimum pension age from 62 to 64 by 2030. The minimum working time required to qualify for a full pension will increase to 43 years.

However, the reform allows exemptions for certain careers, including lorry drivers, but not port workers.

“We are calling on the government to respect its engagements,” the union said in a statement. “The pension reform must not apply to port workers”.

The union adds that if its demands are not met, then further actions will be planned for the coming weeks.

Read more

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