Striking French Polynesia workers demand economic stability plan

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Striking trade unionists in French Polynesia say they're awaiting a response from the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Thousands of workers affiliated to 11 of the territory's biggest trade unions have stopped work.

Calling themselves the "Collective for Peace", they're demanding the local and French governments come up with a concrete plan to end economic instability in the territory.

The secretary general of the Confederation of Trade Unions of French Polynesia says the territory's president, Gaston Tong Sang, has written to Paris about the situation.

But Patrick Galenon says unless workers' demands are met, they will intensify their action.

"In our strategy we block administration like the Haut Commisariat (High Commission) of French Polynesia, the Assembly and all administration," he said.

"This is our first step but we are going harder and harder if nothing is coming."

The strike has already caused the cancellation of at least one scheduled flight to New Caledonia, and is disrupting inter-island ferry services.

Pickets have been set up at major points around the territory including airports, hospitals and ports.

The unions say they will intensify their action in the coming days, unless their demands are met.

Meanwhile, the major trade unions representing private sector employees have denounced the strike as "counter-productive" and are not taking part.

Comment:

Since last thursday, there is a huge strike in French Polynesia. Indeed, thousands of workers, which call themselves "collective for peace" have set up pickets around the islands. They are demanding economic and social help from the French government. Negociations were about to end on friday night, but it eventually failed because the president of Polynesia, Gaston Tong Sang, refused the creation of an unemployment fund. There is also a controversy about nuclear tests hold by French Métropole during the sixties. Trade unions want French government to payback 200 millions of euro for the compensation of the medical spendings due to the high rate of cancers. Now the strikers wants the French president, Nicolas sarkozy, to solve the situation but in the French media, nobody talks about the strike, even it is a big strike in a french territory! French Polynesia is now facing a social and economic depression but in this time of general crisis, nobody seems to care about this couple of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Accodings to economic analysts, between 2008 and 2009, because of the economic crisis, 9.000 jobs have been lost in French Polynesia, and this tendancy is going to increase.
Today, the inhabitants can feel the consequences of this social movement. They have problems to get gas, oil and all the international flights have been cancelled.