Brittany Ferries has suspended the majority of its crossings as it has been hit by a series of wildcat strikes.
The ferry operator’s services form Plymouth, Roscoff, Portsmouth, Caen, St Malo and Bilbao have been cancelled. Its Poole-Cherbourg service will continue to operate as it is run by Condor Ferries.
Crew at the operator have gone on a strike over a pay reduction, which Brittany took out to avoid increasing its prices.
“This decision has not been taken lightly, but we cannot subject our passengers to the on-going uncertainty caused by wildcat strikes and cancellation of services at short notice,” a statement on its website read today.
Last week the company had said: “The [industrial] action results from measures being taken by the company to improve productivity and efficiency in order to ensure that we remain competitive. We face ever increasing competition from other operators most of whom employ lower paid crew but we believe that our French crews are an important part of the unique Brittany Ferries experience. At the same time, in these difficult economic times, we know that it is unrealistic to increase our fares.”
P&O Ferries and MyFerryLink are accepting Brittany Ferries tickets for services between Calais and Dover. Its most recent updates can be found at www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/routes/sailing-updates.