Disneyland Paris: the nurses’ strike could lead to the closure of the park

Panic at Mickey’s! A Disneyland Paris nurses’ strike has started this Wednesday August 3, 2022, and is likely to lead to the closure of the theme park.

On that day, 8 nurses claimed they were on strike – out of the 12 supposed to work – as at least 5 people are required to provide a health permanence at the park.

“On Wednesday, the board of directors had to unite firemen as an emergency to keep up working. (…) We went below the number of nurses requested to stay open”, CFTC elected at the CSE Laurent Burazer said.

These incidents disturb the functioning of Disneyland Paris in the middle of the summer season. A CFDT trade unionist says without firemen or nurses, “we cannot keep the park open, and we must close”, and adds the company has already tried to hire external contractors but there is “such a lack of nurses it is complicated”.

The modification of the park’s nurses’ working rhythm is involved. Until 2021, they enjoyed 5 days of rest in a row every two weeks. With the new organization, their cycles are longer.

“They realized they could not recover well (…) They really need to rest and they feel more and more tired”, Burazer goes on.

Disneyland Paris board reacted this Wednesday August 3, giving three striking nurses a letter about a minimum service “required” and reminding them that any failure of duty “might lead to disciplinary sanctions up to dismissal”. A measure that made the striking health staff even angrier and they asked for the health and safety inspection, although the park assures, they “regret” this tone.

“Excluding cases listed by specific texts, the employer cannot impose a minimum service themselves, even though interrupting work is likely to compromise public order”, the administration says in a letter to AFP, as an answer to a request from the strikers. “The company that would not impose a prior warning or a non-justified minimum service is likely to harm the right to strike which is a constitutional right”.

Exchanges go on. To be continued…