The British authorities have issued a travel warning for its citizens planning to visit France in the following weeks, due to a mass strike action expected to occur on March 7.
More specifically, Unions around France have warned that the mass strike action, might impact tourism and cancel flights, as it is the main target of the action, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“We’re going to block everything on March 7. Everything everywhere must stop,” former presidential candidate for the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, said at a march in the southern city of Montpellier.
The Unions are hoping that the strike will impact the pension reform of President Emmanuel Macron, as the new reform will leave some workers to face a higher retirement age or reduced pension payments.
Moreover, the new pension reform could be beneficial for certain worker groups compared to others, with some people saying high earners can benefit more than low-paid workers if this scheme starts applying.
Some others fear that the reform can lead to protection and social unrest, with workers being concerned that their pensions will be cut off or they might have to work longer in order to be eligible to obtain a pension wage.
“Several unions have called for cross-sector strike action and demonstrations across France on Tuesday, March 7. Industrial action may start the evening before a strike day and run until the morning after,” a statement regarding the action pointed out.
Looking back at previous strikes, many workers from the transport, education and energy sectors walked out, which caused major infrastructures to happen. Last month, the industrial action saw many transport workers walking out, which resulted in flight cancellations by Eurostar, Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways.
Similarly, nearly 1,000 UK Border Forces officers had walked out during the four-day strike, which caused chaos at the Calais and Dunkin ports as well as the Eurotunnel terminal.
As airlines across Europe are still dealing with staff shortages, disruption and other difficulties, workers face long and stressful hours, in addition to the cost-of-living crisis and pandemic pay cuts, which contribute to workers’ distress.
Following this situation, there are many more airports and airlines that are expected to be dealing with disruptions and potential staff shortages in the following months including airports in Italy, Belgium and Portugal.
In order to prevent any inconveniences during visits to the Schengen Area, it is best advisable to purchase travel insurance and have your money fully or partially refunded. Some low-cost travel insurance deals can be found at Europ Assistance or MondialCare.
