Sncm strike blocks a Cmn vessel

Genoa - The strike by SNCM workers has been going on for nine days now and tensions are still on the rise. The Kallisté, a ferry owned by the shipping company Mèridionale (CMN), that a few days ago offered to cover the routes not serviced due to the strike, is now blocked in Marseille. On the opposite side, in Bastia, Corsica, lorry drivers have blocked the port city to protest against the damage that the SNCM strike is causing to their sector. In the last few days, everyone had been waiting for some kind of signal from the Secretary of Transport, Frédéric Cuvillier, who met with the workers’ representatives on Monday. But the former minister did not give any statements in favour of stopping the protests. Instead, he announced the appointment of two mediators: a negotiator, Gilles Bélier, and a technician, Louis Gallois, committed to “draw up a strategic plan to support French shipping lines.” On the issue of the fleet renewal, Cuvillier merely said that “the investments must be balanced.” No news on the decree the unions had been complaining about, which should eliminate unfair competition from foreign-flagged companies operating in the French market. Cuvillier said that it is being examined by the Council of State.

The strike began on 24 June. On June 27, the unions accused Trasndev and the state, which are the two major shareholders of the company, of having given up on the order for four new ships that should have been finalised with the STX shipyard in Saint Nazaire. The letter of intent should have been confirmed by Monday, but it never came. The tug of war over the future of SNCM is not merely a clash between employers and trade unions on the one hand and the government on the other. The conflict is also creating a rift between Marseille, home to the unions that promote the strike and the port keeping the ferries hostage and Corsica, where there’s a great deal of complaining for damages caused by lost connections.

The prefect of Corsica has released an e-mail address to which businesses can submit reports on the adversities they are experiencing these days. The president of the region of Corsica, Paul Giacobbi, said that he was in favour of a judicial liquidation of the company. Giacobbi is one of the most vocal supporters of the creation of a regional company to replace SNCM and asked two companies, Corsica Ferries and The Méridionale, to intervene with their ships to ensure continuity in the territory that is threatened by the strike. Meanwhile, local farmers and lorry drivers are worried about the economic impact of the blockade. For this reason, yesterday the drivers’ union of Corsica has blocked the port of Bastia. “We had no choice. Perhaps this decision was not the best, but it was all we had,” said Jean-Marie Maurizi, leader of the lorry drivers’ strike. The Sncm strike has not only blocked the activity of the company, but has undermined the operation of the port of Marseille. Some cruise ships have cancelled their scheduled calls and are directed towards Toulon and Sète. The future of SNCM has been compromised by the request made by the European Commission for the return of 440 million euros that the company had received in the form of State Aid.