Port strike called off

A STRIKE by port officers that threatened to disrupt thousands of holidaymakers' Easter travel plans has been called off.

The leader of the main union involved, the port officers’ branch of FO, Eric Destable, said: “There will be no strike today in any of the French ports that were affected.

“Negotiations have now been held and we signed an agreement. I am still waiting for the minister to send me a signed confirmation, but we lifted the strike on reading the unsigned terms.”

A 24-hour stoppage was set to be held from today at Calais, Dunkirk, Dieppe and Cherbourg, coinciding with the Easter holiday weekend - and the disruptions could have had a knock-on effect on travel for several days.

P&O Ferries had been recommending that passengers delay their departure until Saturday when there was spare capacity.

The strike threat, led by the Force Ouvrière trade union, came after talks to settle a pay dispute broke down.