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STRIKES

UPDATE: One fifth of flights in France to be hit by Thursday’s strike action

Around one fifth of all flights in France will be cancelled on Thursday because of mass strike action in protest against the government's pension reforms.

UPDATE: One fifth of flights in France to be hit by Thursday's strike action
AFP

Along with the flights, SNCF train services and Metro services in Paris will be hit by mass strike action in France on Thursday.

For more information on train cancellations click here and for the situation in Paris, click here.

READ ALSO 'Unlimited' December strikes in France: What you need to know

Scores of flights across the country will also be grounded after several unions representing air transport signalled their intention to join Thursday's strike action against the government's planned pension reforms.

France civil aviation authority the DGAC announced on Tuesday that 20 percent of flights will be cancelled on Thursday which could be just the first day of unlimited strike action that hits transport services in France.

Long haul flights should not be affected by the cancellations, authorities say.

The DGAC has asked airlines operating in France to reduce their number of scheduled flights by 20 percent on Thursday due to ground staff and air traffic controllers joining the mass walk-out.

Air France flights will be badly affected with 11 unions representing various workers in the company having called on them to strike on Thursday.

The national carrier said 30 percent of internal flights in France will be cancelled as well as 15 percent of short to medium haul international flights.

Easyjet gave a statement to The Local on Wednesday morning confirming cancellations.

“As a result of the strike, easyJet has to cancel a proportion of its French programme and 233 flights, of which 70 are UK touching, have been cancelled. We are also expecting other flights to experience delays,” the statement read.

“Due to an increased volume of calls expected to the call centre, we advise customers travelling o December 5th to check the status of their flights on our Flight Tracker page or manage their bookings using our disruption portal on our mobile app or website at www.easyjet.com.

“Any customers affected by cancellations are eligible for a refund or a free of charge transfer to a new flight. 

“Although this is outside of our control we would like to apologise to all our customers for any inconvenience caused and would like to reassure them we are doing all possible to minimise any disruption as a result of the strike action.”

British Airways says their flights will also be affected.

“Like all airlines, our operations to and from French airports and certain airports in Spain and Switzerland between Thursday 5 December and Saturday 7 December may be affected by French Air Traffic Control industrial strike action which is due to take place,” read a statement.

“On Tuesday, we introduced a flexible booking policy for anyone booked to fly between Thursday 5 and Saturday 7 December to or from any French airport, as well as on services to Barcelona, Madrid, Basel, Geneva and Zurich. Customers can move their flights to Tuesday 3 or Wednesday 4 December, or between 8 and 12 December. Here's more info.”

Ryanair has also told The Local it will cancel flights but did not say how many. Customers affected will receive text messages.

The reason some 80 percent of flights will operate compared to just 10 percent of SNCF trains is that not all unions and sectors representing air transport workers have joined the call to strike.

The Local has created a strikes section, so for all the updated transport information and strike news, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of 420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of 2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some 200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of 2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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