Martinique Workers Sign Accord to end Month-Long General Strike

[Jacuma]

Report of accord to end Martinique strike

By RODOLPHE LAMY

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AP) — Union leaders said Wednesday they are
ending a monthlong strike on the French Caribbean island of Martinique
after reaching agreement with employers on a pay raise.

Michael Monrose, president of the "February 5 Collective", said
blockades will be lifted and businesses and schools should reopen within
48 hours.

The agreement reached around 2 a.m. Wednesday after 12 hours of
negotiations calls for a 200 euro ($250) monthly salary increase for
47,000 low-wage earners. Those who make more will see a smaller
increase. The agreement is applicable from March 1 and workers will
receive retroactive pay.

The pact matches an agreement that ended a 44-day strike on the sister
French island of Guadeloupe on March 4.

Martinique's employers welcomed the deal with relief but also a hint of
bitterness.

"We will have to manage all the collateral damage of 34 days of
conflict," said Alexandre Richol, president of the General Confederation
of Small and Mid-size Businesses.

As protesters began melting away on Wednesday, businesses began to
cautiously reopen — though many owners left their cars parked far away
to avoid encountering strikers. Customers waited patiently in long lines
to buy leftover products.

Trucks and tractors removed tires and wooden blockades to clear the
entrances of several commercial zones and the first of 7,600 immobilized
shipping containers began to move as the port also reopened.

A local chamber of commerce estimated that roughly 10 million euros ($13
million) was lost when food perished inside 600 of those containers.

Schools expected to reopen in upcoming days, and classes will be held
over the weekend to make up for lost time.

Union leaders had originally demanded a 250-euro ($316) increase, and
the strike had turned violent in recent days as some protesters attacked
business people and set cars and garbage bins on fire, while several
police officers were slightly injured by gunfire as they responded with
tear gas.

Business owners have already agreed to lower prices on roughly 400 basic
necessities by 20 percent one month after stores reopen.

In the nearby island of Guadeloupe, the LKP collective warned it would
resume the strike if government officials and business owners go back on
promises to raise pay and lower gas prices. Negotiations over lower food
prices and other demands are still ongoing.

The strikes have spread to the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion,
where one police officer was injured by gunfire on Tuesday during an
otherwise peaceful protest to demand lower prices and higher salaries.


End in Sight for Month-Long Strike on Martinique

FORT-DE-FRANCE, MARTINIQUE – A month-long strike on this French-ruled
Caribbean island appeared to be nearing an end Thursday following word
of an agreement between unions and employers.

The accord, which is retroactive to March 1, came late Wednesday after
12 hours of negotiations. It calls for a $250 per month pay increase for
47,000 of Martinique’s lowest-paid workers and a smaller raise for those
earning above the minimum.

While union leaders continue to mull over the agreement, employers are
counting their losses from the strike.

“We will have to manage all the collateral damage of 34 days of
conflict,” said Alexandre Richol, president of the General Confederation
of Small and Mid-size Businesses.

The pact is comparable to the one reached last Wednesday in neighboring
Guadeloupe after weeks of unrest that virtually shut down all business
and government activity.

Before agreeing to the pay hike, business leaders in Martinique had
offered to lower the prices of around 100 staple items, including food,
by as much as 20 percent, but strikers said the move was inadequate.

With the new accord, businesses and schools are expected to re-open here
by Friday.

A general strike launched in Guadeloupe at the end of January spread to
Martinique in early February. Both of the heavily tourism-dependent
islands are governed from Paris and elect representatives to the French
Parliament. EFE


Strikes in Martinique and Guadeloupe restrict export

High banana prices because of limited supply

The strikes in Martinique and Guadeloupe, already lasting more than 30
days, prevent the export of fruit. Because of the strikes by producers,
fighting for better working conditions, no bananas are being exported.
The French supply has stopped and therefore fewer bananas are available
and prices rise.

As a result of heavy flooding fewer bananas are available from Costa
Rica and supply from Ecuador is also less. According to a trader the
shortage of bananas is the result of unfavourable weather conditions and
good prices being obtained locally.

A trader reports that Aldi pay 18 euro per box of green bananas ex port,
for which last year only E17 euro was paid and previous to that 14 euro
only. It is expected that this situation will remain for a while, as
there are no immediate solutions to the strikes in Martinique and
Guadeloupe.

[GoodTimes]

Them White French need to die and give our people back their homeland.