Former Crew Disrupt Channel Ferry Service
On the morning of January 20, former employees of the MyFerryLink cross-channel ferry service occupied a pier at the Calais ferry terminal, burning tires on the wharf to prevent ferries from docking.
The action caused a traffic buildup in Dover as regular passenger service was disrupted.
The industrial action is the latest in a string stretching back to June, when 100 workers blockaded the ferry terminal and set tires alight on its train tracks in protest of the loss of 600 jobs from MyFerryLink's acquisition by DFDS.
In July and August, strikers, largely members of the Maritime Nord union, blocked the entrance to the Channel Tunnel with burning tires.
On August 31, former employees also set up a moving harbor blockade of the Calais ferry port using two lifeboats, disrupting passenger traffic for hours during a major British holiday.
The MyFerryLink story stretches back to 2012, when the firm – formed in the dissolution of SeaFrance – was purchased by Eurotunnel. Anti-monopoly regulators found that the ownership was anti-competitive, and MyFerryLink's vessels Rodin and Berlioz were resold to DFDS. Its third ship, the cargo vessel Nord pas de Calais, will remain in operation under Eurotunnel's ownership.
The announced layoffs from the acquisition have prompted the extended string of protests, and in September, Eurotunnel and DFDS reached a deal to resolve the matter. Eurotunnel would hire 200, many as security guards, and DFDS would hire 202.
As the protests continue, DFDS says that it is in the process of completing the hiring.
“We are in the process of recruiting staff for our two new ferries on our Calais service, which are due to enter service in February. As part of this process we agreed to recruit up to 202 former SCOP SeaFrance workers, 74 of whom we have already offered employment to. There are a number of factors involved in offering this number of jobs to date, including a relatively low amount of applications from former SCOP SeaFrance workers. I would, however, like to underline that this is an ongoing recruitment process," said DFDS senior vice president Carsten Jensen said.
“This kind of illegal action is both extremely dangerous and completely unacceptable,” he added.