Container traffic at Le Havre, France’s leading box hub, has been hit by a dockworker strike which brought container handling to a standstill, with workers downing tools again this past weekend, according to international media reports carried by Portworld.
Port operations across France were halted earlier in the week when members of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union staged a 24-hour walk out.
Members were protesting against a major port services reform that was introduced in 2010. French ports have been seriously hampered over the last few months as employees challenged the French government’s decision to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.
Irish hauliers travelling to France should expect long delays at the country’s ports as further strikes are planned over the coming days, reported Irish Trucking yesterday (Monday).
In what it described as a new twist, workers at the Le Havre and Marseilles have downed tools over plans to transfer some of the jobs to the private sector.
Maersk Line said: “While good progress has been made so far, the national negotiation on the French port reform is not finalised yet.
“However, as a new meeting between government and unions is expected next week, it is not certain that strikes will be maintained and we will keep [customers] regularly posted.”
