Labour unions at France’s major ports have announced that they are to continue intermittent industrial action which began in January and intensified in February in protest to state pension reform. Among the ports affected by the strikes are Le Havre and Marseille, the country’s two biggest maritime gateways for container traffic which also serve as hubs for a number of rail freight services.
Yesterday, 26 February, saw a one-day stoppage with a further 24-hour walkout taking place today, 27 February. The labour unions have called for a 72-hour strike between 18-20 March along with four-hour walkouts on 4, 6, 10, 12, 14, 24, 26 and 28 March. Overtime work and one-off shifts will also be affected. French industry body, the MEDEF, has demanded a swift end to the strikes but this has fallen on deaf ears.
Against the pension reform
The dockers are contesting the reform of the state pension scheme, notably the increase in the retirement age, and are also demanding recognition of the arduous nature of their profession. The Fédération CGT Ports et Docks union said that despite numerous attempts at negotiation (on its part) and in the absence of concrete solutions proposed by the government to resolve the conflict, it had been left with no choice but to continue industrial action.
So far, the French government has given no indication that it is ready to offer dockers and port workers any concessions to end the dispute. The MEDEF, which represents more than 200,000 businesses in France, said the strikes “are seriously disrupting the supply chain and are having a profound impact on the national economy. They result in significant extra costs and delays, threatening the competitiveness of businesses and thousands of jobs in the sector”.
Impact of the strikes on the industry
The business confederation estimates that as a result of the stoppages its members’ transport costs have increased by 23 per cent while a loss of around 25 per cent in sales is expected in February 2025. It recommends “the rapid creation of a public-private coordination unit, bringing together all the relevant authorities and administrations as well as the national federations of the players concerned, in order to find solutions to limit the impact of the strikes and guarantee the resumption of activities as soon as possible.”
Naviland Cargo (a subsidiary of Rail Logistics Europe/SNCF), is one the major France-based combined transport operators with scheduled services from/to Le Havre and Marseille. Contacted by Railfreight.com, no one was immediately available at the company to comment on the impact of the strikes.
STMRA, a trade body representing forwarders in south-east France and the Rhône-Alpes region, said the situation at Marseille-Fos was becoming “untenable” because of the strikes. It highlighted “repeated industrial action” over the past two years which had paralysed business, preventing containers from leaving the port and causing additional costs due to difficult access(changes to timetables and schedules, cancellations of appointments, etc.), while goods flows are being diverted to other European ports such as Genoa and Barcelona.
One forwarder with offices at both Le Havre and Marseille-Fos, said that since the start of the year, ports in France have experienced four-hour work stoppages almost every two working days. “Tensions in the shipping market are high at a time when traffic is heavy following the Chinese New Year holidays, and when other strikes are affecting (the ports of ) Antwerp and Rotterdam,” a spokesperson noted.