Cast member strikes are continuing across the summer as they fight for improved pay and conditions.
Firstly let me state we are fully behind the idustrial action from the cast members and we aren’t the only ones, many social media users have expressed support for Cast Members, but there is a lot of frustration as the strikes are disrupting people’s holidays.
Some of the strike action has included :
- Parades cancelled
- Character meals disrupted
- Night time show cancelled
- Shows cancelled just before the start or half way though
- Cast members protesting and marching though the parks and Disney Village
Cast members have been asking for some negotiations for sometime, they have also been mindful of trying to keep the disruption to a minimum, but have been told no negotiations yet. Disneyland Paris President Natacha Rafalski stated that Cast Members will need to wait until August to discuss potential changes to their wages. Disneyland Paris has received shout-outs from Disney executives of late at they really have turned it around financially in recent months and has become profitable! President Rafalski commented the resort “needs to be careful” with its money. The cast members and it’s union have been asking for some kind of deal since August last year, so this has been dragging on and have told told resort leadership “the ball is in their court.”
Disneyland Paris announced recently that flexible booking conditions enabling guests to postpone their visit or get a refund if their ticket had been bought for a strike date. We are not sure how long this flexibility will be in place – but it looks like the rest of the summer, well until at least sometime in August when negotiations may start, is going to be littered with strikes. Up until now as we have said the cast members have tried to keep the disruption on a minimum, but they are getting nowhere so expect the action to ramp up.
No one strikes like the French, and although not all the cast members are French the union is, and the Disney cast members are some of the hardest working, Disney loving people, they are just like us. They love Disney, they love the parks, they love the magic and all they want is fair pay and conditions. There would be no park without the cast members. So please remember if you are in the park on a strike day they aren’t doing this to upset your holiday.
If you are due to visit DLP over the summer please keep an eye on social media, your inbox and check with which ever company you booked with as you may want to take the decision to reschedule your visit.
