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When will we take adion against expensive French strike action?
Page 24
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REMIND ME AGAIN why we put up with the French. I don't mean the whole French nation (although you could argue it has a lot to answer, for particularly with regard to EU legislation), but those unions that continually hit our economy with multimillion-pound bills thanks to their strike action.
Some might say it shows impressive solidarity that every time a cleaner, for example,issacked,or a valuable wine subsidy is threatened,the French workers are out manning the barricades at Calais quicker than you can say Jacques Filsderobin. However what this means for UK truck operators is endless queues, massive delays and deadlines missed.
I appreciate that truck operators of all nations are affected by the delays hull would maintain that UK industry feels the effects most keenly.
It doesn't help that the Kent Police refuse to segregate traffic so even if you're sailing to Belgium or booked on the shuttle you're still forced to wait in a big line on the M20. The end result of the strike action is millions of pounds down the drain for British industry, and for road haulage operators it means vehicles stood still when they should be out earning money.
Why the striking French workers should feel it necessary to disrupt the UK's economy is beyond me, but it's high time that the UK government used its political muscle to sort this problem out once and for all. Either we do this thorough negotiation and co-operation with the French authorities or we play hardball and threaten legal action.
Imagine what effect a bill presented every year to the French government would have perhaps they might even be prepared to enact some labour and industrial relations laws that weren't rooted in the 1960s. Is it any wonder that the French economy is in such a pitiful state when this sort of thing is commonplace?
K Parkhurst Erith, Kent