UnionBook

International Liaison Committee of Workers & Peoples (ILC)
P.O. Box 40009, San Francisco, CA 94140.
Tel. (415) 641-8616; fax: (415) 626-1217.
To SUB/ UNSUBSCRIBE, contact ILC at <ilcinfo@earthlink.net>
website: ILC section in www.owcinfo.org
Please Excuse Duplicate Postings
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Dear Sisters and Brothers,

I received this morning an update on the situation in Guadeloupe, now in its 37th day of general strike, from Brother Robert Fabert, editor of Travayé è Payzan. Here is an abridged and translated version of his note:

Negotiations with the French authorities resumed on Monday, Feb. 23 -- although this time the French government had a new negotiating team headed by lower-rank representatives, as Yves Jégo, Minister of France's "Overseas Departments" -- in reality, the Minister of French Colonies -- had been brought back to Paris after he told the LKP Strike Collective that his government would be willing to consider increasing the minimum monthly wage in Guadeloupe by 200 euros, or roughly US$260. This is one of the main demands of the general strike.

French Prime Minister François Fillon later told the press that it was out of the question for France to give in on this demand, as it would open the floodgates for workers in other "Overseas Departments" (Martinique has been on general strike since Feb. 5) and in France itself (where a new one-day general strike has been called for March 19) to demand a similar 18% increase in the monthly minimum wage.

There was, however, a big breakthrough in this latest round of negotiations which began on Monday, Feb. 23: The representatives of the local employers in Guadeloupe (UCEG, UPA, Transportation Employers Association), who are a majority of the representatives sitting across the table from the LKP Strike Collective, came up with a proposal that would grant all workers in Guadeloupe a 200 euro increase in the minimum wage. They said the employers' associations of Guadeloupe would come up, out of their own funds, with 100 euros (toward the 200 monthly wage increase) -- with the balance to come from a suspension of their taxes and social benefit payments to the French government for three years. This would mean that the French government would cover the remaining 100 euros per worker per month by foregoing collection of taxes and social benefit payments from the employers' associations in Guadeloupe.

The LKP Strike Collective immediately noted that they would be open to such a proposal, but the representatives from the French government, following Fillon's directive, insisted that this proposal was out of the question -- and they then walked out of the bargaining session.

This morning (Feb. 25), in a new about-face, the representatives of the French State announced that they would be back at the negotiating table and would have a counter-proposal to the one proposed by the Guadeloupan Employers' Association.

Clearly, there are deep fissures in the summits of the French State over how to proceed: The government had hoped the strike would slowly die on the vine, but this has not happened. If anything, the strikers' resolve -- despite all the incredible hardships -- has been strengthened. The French government had hoped that the desperation from being out of work and with little food for weeks on end would push the people of Guadeloupe to the brink of despair, thus provoking fissures within the LKP Strike Collective that could be exploited to break the strike, including by resorting to large-scale repression, as they did in 1967.

But this weakening of the general strike has not happened. The strikers' unity is as solid as ever. Plus, the workers and people now see that there are divisions at the highest levels of the French state, as well as growing contradictions between the French State and the local employers -- and these signs of weakness among their opponents has given the people of Guadeloupe courage and hope to continue their strike and win their main demands.

The impact this general strike is having in France, itself, cannot be overstated. On January 29, more than 2.5 million workers shut down the country to protest the cutbacks in public services and the giveaway of public funds to bail out the banks and speculators. A new general strike is scheduled in France on March 19 -- and now all the main trade union federations are calling for support to the Guadeloupe strike. For the first time, a solidarity demonstration in Paris on Feb. 21 gathered tens of thousands of trade unionists. The largest contingent was the CGT contingent, as the worker in Guadeloupe who was killed the night of Feb. 16 was a member of a union affiliated with the French CGT.

This is the latest from Guadeloupe.

Of course, what we do here in the United States in solidarity with the striking workers and people of Guadeloupe is also pivotal. This is a frontline struggle against the impact of the wordwide capitalist crisis on working people, but it is also a frontline struggle by the Black people of Guadeloupe against colonialism and racism.

Thank you all for your continued attention to, and support for, this exemplary struggle for justice by the workers and people of Guadeloupe.

In solidarity,

Alan Benjamin

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

We received this morning an update from Robert Fabert, past Deputy Secretary General of the UGTG trade union federation and current editor of Travayé è Payzan (Workers and Peasants), in Guadeloupe.

Brother Fabert writes:

"After the president and prime minister of France intervened directly, negotiations between the French authorities and the LKP Strike Collective were renewed late in the afternoon of Thursday, February 19, and they continued throughout the day of February 20. Discussions are moving very slowly because the proposals put forward by the French government appear to be more like assistance to the poorest families rather than an across-the-board wage increase.

"This is what the negotiating team of the LKP told the Strikers' Assembly, which then prompted the employers to propose a 50 Euro wage increase for all companies with less than 20 workers and 70 Euros with companies with over 20 workers. But we did not accept this offer. Negotiations will continue Monday at 11 a.m. They will be preceded by meetings with mediators.

"The mobilizations are continuing throughout the weekend. Some of the barricades will be opened temporarily today [Saturday, February 21] to allow folks to participate in the many planned demonstrations that will lead up to the funeral procession for our comrade who was assassinated the evening of Feb. 16. The mayor of Abymes and the Church have called for a silent march, beginning at the site where our comrade was killed."

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

We also received this morning a very large PDF file with 60 photos taken by the Lyannaj Kont Prowfitasyon- Duport Production Team. The photos were taken the morning of February 16 at the Gosier barricade, where the confrontation between the French CRS riot police and the picketers took place. You will recall that 70 picketers were arrested, and one striker was badly injured. All were released from jail a few hours later by the mass pressure of thousands upon thousands of people who had assembled in front of the police station in Pointe-à-Pître.

Anyone who wishes a copy of this full PDF (7.4 Megabytes) should just send us a note with this request. In the interim we are sending you six of these photos -- for a total of about 1 Meg.

We want to thank all of you who have endorsed the Sign-On Letter to the French Ambassador in Washington. To date we have received close to 200 endorsements, including from unions and community/political organizations.

Please help us by forwarding the Sign-On Appeal to your friends, co-workers, relatives, unions, organizations ... and beyond.

The French authorities have had to return to the negotiating table. This is a first step forward. Clearly, their intent to break the general strike by attacking the Gosier barricade on February 16 did not work; it only enraged the mobilized population, whose "people power" and determination forced the local authorities to release all the detained activists from jail.

The international solidarity movement is a key battlefield in this struggle. If we can focus the eyes of working people the world over on this struggle in Guadeloupe, if we can expand our solidarity, we could very well help the workers and people of Guadeloupe win their heartfelt demands. We must!

We thank you again for your support.

In solidarity,

Ed Rosario and Alan Benjamin,
For the ILC

*********************

FOR FURTHER ENDORSEMENT / DISTRIBUTION

PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TO THE LETTER BELOW!

Monday, February 23, 2008

Attention:
Pierre Vimont
French Embassador to the United States
Washington, DC
Telephone: (202) 944-6000
Fax: (202) 944-6072
E-mail: info@ambafrance-us.org

Dear Sir:

We, the undersigned, have been following with great concern the unfolding situation in Guadeloupe, where the workers and people, through the LKP Strike Collective of 49 organizations, have staged a general strike since January 20 to demand an increase in the minimum wage, a sharp reduction in the cost of basic staples, and other pressing demands.

We call on you and on the French government to (1) withdraw all special riot police and troops sent to Guadeloupe, (2) put a halt to any and all forms of repression against the striking population, (3) return to the negotiating table with the LKP Strike Collective, and (4) heed their legitimate demands, beginning with an immediate 200 Euro increase in the minimum wage.

We believe the strikers' demands are legitimate and must be addressed promptly so that a just and peaceful solution can be reached.

Sincerely,

[follows list of signatories, with names, titles (for id. only), city, state and country.]

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ENDORSEMENT COUPON

[   ]  Please add my name to the list of endorsers of the Sign-On Letter to the French Embassy in Washington, DC

NAME:

UNION/ORG (list if for id. only)

CITY

STATE

COUNTRY

EMAIL

(please fill out today and return to ilcinfo@earthlink.net)

I have uploaded the 6 photos to my files at http://www.unionbook.org/pg/file/brashley46

More pictures are now online at http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=255551148/a=161305238_161406190/t_=161305238 ; registration is required.

[Please Excuse Duplicate Postings]

LIYANNAJ KONT  PWOFITASYON
Collectif des 47 organisations
UGTG, Rue Paul Lacavé 97 110 Point-à-Pitre Guadeloupe
Fax : International : 00 335 90 89 08 70
France : 05 90 89 08 70
Email : ugtg@wanadoo.fr
NEW OFFICIAL LKP WEBSITE: http://www.lkp-gwa.org/
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Appeal to the International Workers' and Democratic Movements

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

As we wrote in our last international appeal of February 6, 2009: "The bosses and the representatives of the French State are hoping that the general strike will die down, so that they can then begin the repression."

This is visibly the political thinking that prompted the French State to take action, as they did on February 16.

In the face of the obstinate refusal by the French State and the bosses to heed our demands, in the face of their scorn for the people of Guadeloupe, the Liannaj Kont Pwofitation Strike Collective, or LKP, issued a call to the population on the 28th day of the General Strike to reinforce the picket lines across the country. The French State proceeded to repress the movement, seriously injuring one trade union leader, injuring others less seriously, and arresting more than 70 activists, including many trade union leaders of the LKP Strike Collective.

The population, the workers, the youth have said, "Enough is Enough!" They refuse to give up the struggle.

A number of elected officials protested against this State violence, which was also denounced by the LKP.

The workers, the youth, the people of Guadeloupe have strengthened their mobilizations on the ground. Their resolute actions won the freedom of all the jailed activists.

Today, on the 29th day of the general strike [Feb. 17], Guadeloupe is paralyzed by barricades in nearly every commune.

Youth were arrested the night of February 16-17, 2009.

This repression is going to continue, as the French State has just sent in a reinforcement of 1,000 mobile police troops [to bolster the 4,000 troops sent in on Feb. 7 -- translator's note]. The LKP has issued a call to the population to reinforce their mobilizations.

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

In the name of international labor solidarity, in the name of democracy, we call upon you once more to request your support for our just struggle.

The workers and people of Guadeloupe have the right to fight for their legitimate demands!

In solidarity,

ADIM - AFOC - AGPIHM - AKIYO - AN BOUT'AY - ANG - ANKA - ASSE - ASS.AGRICULTEURS DU NORD BASSE-TERRE - ASS.LIBERTE EGALITE JUSTICE - CFTC - CGTG - CNL - COMBAT OUVRIER - COMITE DE L'EAU - CONVENTION POUR UNE GUADELOUPE NOUVELLE - COPAGUA - CSFG - CTU - ESPERANCE ENVIRONNEMENT - FAEN SNCL - FO - FSU - GIE SBT - KAMODJAKA - KAP Gwadloup - LES VERTS - MADICE - MAS KA KLE - MOUVMAN NONM - PCG - SGEP/SNEC/CFTC - SOS B/Terre ENVIRONNEMENT - SPEG - SUD PTT GWA - SUNICAG - SYMPA CFDT - TRAVAYE é PEYIZAN - UDCLCV - UIR CFDT - UNSA - UGTG - UPG - UPLG - UMPG - VOukoum-SNUIPP-ADEIC
-- Guadeloupe, February 17, 2009

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Robert Fabert, the past Deputy Secretary-Treasurer of the UGTG trade union federation, forwarded to us a Third International Appeal from the LKP Strike Committee in Guadeloupe along with an important update about a first victory that was won by the mobilization of the workers and people of Guadeloupe.

Brother Fabert, who had been arrested the morning of February 16, writes:

------

"We were freed from jail -- Charlie Lendo, all the others, and I -- at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 after a hearing that lasted less than 15 minutes. The authorities did not quite know what to do given the thousands upon thousands of people who had gathered in front of the Police Station to demand our release and given the large media presence and the worldwide mobilizations, including the mass protests in the streets across France, on our behalf.

"It was clear that the prosecutor had wanted to 'punish' us heavily. It was he who ordered our arrests. But under the pressure of the immense and very loud crowd in front of the Police Station in Pointe à Pitre and the firm interventions of our attorneys, we were all released from jail, though many of the detainees have been summoned to appear before the Court on June 9. This summons was denounced by Maitre Aristide, one of the attorneys of the LKP, the evening of Feb. 16 before a mass rally of thousands in Pointe à Pitre.

"We thank all of you for your prompt international solidarity. You made an enormous difference. We ask you to step up this international pressure on the French authorities to stop the repression and to return to the negotiating table to meet our legitimate demands.

" In solidarity, Robert F."

-----

The translation team of the ILC is in the process of translating into English the Third International Appeal of the LKP Strike Committee (comprising the 49 main union, political, community and cultural organizations on the island).

We, too, want to thank all of you for your support. We received copies of the dozens of letters that you sent yesterday to the French Embassy in the United States. Please excuse us if we are not able to thank you individually at this time.

We ask that you please continue sending your letters to the French Embassy. The French authorities obviously misjudged the situation on the ground. They thought that after 29 days of a general strike, with everything shut down on the island, the people of Guadeloupe would be totally worn out and receptive to intervention by the authorities. They were dead wrong.

The people in Guadeloupe have organized themselves, collectively, in myriad of ways to withstand the hardships provoked by the general strike. They have maintained their unity in action. And they rose up immediately against the first act of repression, freeing all the 50 jailed activists. They have set up barricades throughout the island to defend their picket lines, soup kitchens and the rest.

But, as you will read, in the Third International Appeal of the LKP Strike Committee, the French government has sent in police/army reinforcements. The threat of more repressions looms large.

That is why we urge one and all to please send more protest letters to the French Embassy in Washington. We call upon the trade union movement, in particular, to send letters from your officers to the French authorities. And we urge folks to go in delegations to the French Embassy in DC and to the French Consulates in your cities (there are Consulates in most major cities in the United States) with the call to stop the repression and return to the negotiating table to meet the strikers' just demands.

The contact info for the French Embassy in DC is the following:

Pierre Vimont
French Embassador to the United States
Washington, DC
Telephone: (202) 944-6000
Fax: (202) 944-6072
E-mail: info@ambafrance-us.org

Please send us a copy of your statement (to <ilcinfo@earthlink.net>).

Thanks, in advance for your continued support,

In solidarity,

Ed Rosario and Alan Benjamin
for the ILC/US

PS. Find attached a link to an excellent article on the General Strike by the San Francisco Bay View newspaper:

http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/guadeloupe-and-martinique-workers-call-general-strikes-to-protest-economic-racism/

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY!

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

The French colonialist police and army forces have begun the repression against the people of Guadeloupe, who have organized a nationwide general strike since Jan. 20 around a 146-point platform of fundamental demands. More than fifty people have been arrested thus far, including Robert Fabert and Charlie Lendo of the UGTG trade union federation, in a brutal onslaught that began early Monday, February 16.

Picket lines that had been set up in various places across the island, including in Gosier and Sainte-Rose, were violently repressed by the French troops, with brutal beatings. This is the latest phone message info we just received from Guadeloupe.

A communiqué issued by the LKP Strike Committee a few hours before this latest phone message  [see below, in French] announced the beginning of the repression.

An international labor delegation is being put together to travel to Guadeloupe later today or first thing tomorrow morning. The presence of a U.S. trade unionist and/or or recognized progressive leader on this delegation would be extremely important.

A communique has been issued by the ILC and will be sent to you once it is translated into English.

This is extremely serious and requires our immediate attention.

We urge all readers of the ILC International Newsletter -- and all supporters of democratic rights -- to please send protest statements to the French Embassy in Washington, DC to demand an immediate end to the repression, the release of all the prisoners, and a return to the negotiating table, so that the legitimate demands of the people of Guadeloupe can be met.

Your statements should be sent to (or called into) the French Embassy in the U.S. TODAY!

Telephone: (202) 944-6000
Fax: (202) 944-6072
E-mail: info@ambafrance-us.org

Please send a copy of your statement to <ugtg@wanadoo.fr> and <ilcinfo@earthlink.net>.

Thanks in advance for your support,

In solidarity,

Alan Benjamin and Ed Rosario
for the ILC/US

*****************

Communiqué de LKP
 
Comme il l'avait promis Jégo a décidé de réprimer LKP et le peuple de Gwadloup.
En ce sens, les forces de répression tabassent à tout va. Ils ont déjà arrêté une dizaine de personnes au Gosier et deux à Sainte-Rose, manifestants ou non. En plus tout un bataillon encercle en ce moment une cinquantaine de personnes (manifestants ou non) toujours sur le Gosier les enserrant de plus en plus avec l'intention bien décidée de frapper et d'arrêter.
 
Serge A'PATOUT
16 fév 09

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MXGM Solidarity Statement
To our Sisters and Brothers in Guadaloupe and Martinique, You Are Not Alone!
 The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) denounces in the strongest terms the threatening posture of the French government to the peoples of Guadaloupe and Martinique. We will not sit idly by and let the French government continue to treat our brothers and sisters as colonial subjects, or worse. We stand in full support of the just demands of the people's movements of Guadaloupe and Martinique for economic, social, and cultural rights, human dignity, and self-determination.
 MXGM serves notice to the French government that the resolution to the crisis in Guadaloupe and Martinique can only be addressed through diplomatic means in full accord with international law. Any invasion or use of force to crush these political conflicts would constitute a clear human rights violation. This crisis will only be justly resolved when the French government fully complies with all 146 of the people's demands. Nothing less will be satisfactory.

 No Invasion!
Respect, Honor, and Fulfill ALL 146 Demands!
Self-Determination for Guadeloupe and Martinique!
 
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
 Friday, February 13, 2009
www.mxgm.org
info@mxgm.org

 

International Liaison Committee of Workers & Peoples (ILC)
P.O. Box 40009, San Francisco, CA 94140.
Tel. (415) 641-8616; fax: (415) 626-1217.
To SUB/ UNSUBSCRIBE, contact ILC at <ilcinfo@earthlink.net>
website: ILC section in www.owcinfo.org
--------------------

PRESENTATION

The following report is reprinted from ILC International Newsletter No. 322 (Feb. 6, 2009). Please note, as well, that a general strike has shut down the island of Martinique -- also a French "Overseas Territory" -- since Feb. 5. (A brief reference is made to this in the posting below.) A march of 25,000 people took place in the capital city of Fort-de-France, Martinique, on Feb. 9.

Meanwhile hundreds of additional French elite troops have been mobilized and placed on alert in Guadeloupe to pressure the population to back down, or to repress the movement in the event the general strike remains solid, as it has been since January 20. The memory of the 1967 massacre by the French occupation troops of more than 100 striking construction workers remains vivid in the minds of the people of Guadeloupe.

More than ever, this powerful strike movement needs our international solidarity. Please send your solidarity statement to the General Union of Workers of Guadeloupe (UGTG) and to the Collective of 49 Organizations to:

Collectif des 49 Organisations
UGTG, Rue Paul Lacavé 97 110 Point-à-Pitre Guadeloupe
Fax : International : 011 335 90 89 08 70
Email : ugtg@wanadoo.fr

In solidarity,

Ed Rosario and Alan Benjamin
ILC - USA

********************

GUADELOUPE

Second Week of the General Strike in Guadeloupe

The arrival of the French Secretary of State for Overseas Territories:
Does it finally mean real negotiations?

Since January 20, a general strike has paralyzed Guadeloupe. Triggered, in unity, by all the trade unions and popular organizations on the island, which formed a Collective "Movement Against Exploitation" ("Liyannaj kont pwofitasyon"), the strike's main demands are an increase in the minimum wage of 200 euros, an increase in social benefits, lower prices for basic staples and gas (which is 50% more expensive than in the French metropolitan mainland), and a freeze on rents. In total there are 146 specific demands.

These are 146 demands raised by workers and the working masses with their organizations. After the attacks by the representatives of the French government, who tried to break the negotiations, and after the most powerful demonstration yet, which brought together more than 60,000 people in Pointe-à-Pitre, the French Secretary of State for Overseas Territories, Yves Jego, was dispatched to the island to try to end the conflict.

Are we really entering a phase of negotiations, to take into account the genuine demands of a population hard hit by the crisis?
"Without results, the strike continues. We are ready to intensify the movement if the strike assemblies want this," says a spokesperson for the Collective of 49 Organizations. "We presented a platform of demands. There is room for negotiation if the French government really wants this. Mr Jego told us, upon arrival, that he was carrying proposals with him. We will see what he has to offer, particularly regarding the minimum wage and minimum social benefits and prices. As in French Guyana, gasoline is more expensive here; Why? We want clear answers and transparency about this. Another example: Butter costs 80% more than in the mainland. Distributors make the law and we want this to change."

This mandate for change by the tens of thousands of strikers was carefully specified and quantified in their 146 demands. It is up to the Minister to respond.

-----
In response to the call of the Collective of 49 labor organizations and popular organizations, "Liyannaj kont pwofitasyon," 65, 000 protested in the streets of Pointe-à-Pitre
"Against high prices and for more purchasing power"
On this small island, 65,000 protested. A huge show of power was organized on January 30 in Pointe-à-Pitre, the main city of Guadeloupe, in response to the call of the Collective of 49 organizations "Liyannaj kont pwofitasyon" (Movement against exploitation).

On the eighth day of the strike "Against high prices and for greater purchasing power"  came this mobilization, the likes of which have never ever been seen on the island.

Tens of thousands of workers, activists and young people demonstrated last Saturday in Pointe-à-Pitre in response to the authorities' attempt to break the movement and block the negotiations in progress. They emphasized the platform developed in 146 points at the start of the strike.
Guadeloupe is now completely paralyzed. There is no bus circulation; the port, utilities, schools, university, department stores and most businesses and shops are closed. The district of Baie-Mahault, the heart of the business district, is deserted. The port activity is virtually at a standstill. It is a general strike. There is much confidence in the strength of the movement, the unity achieved. A port worker explains: "The authorities tried to say that the strike is over, that we're finished. But not only are we strong -- we are even stronger than before." A teacher spoke of the moment as "historic" and said also that "the strategy of waiting for us to give up will not work."

Arriving on Sunday February 1st, in the wake of this powerful show of force, the State Secretary, Yves Jego, immediately declared that he was "carrying proposals" and would "listen to everybody."

In an obvious attempt to divide the movement, he began by meeting with the managers of the gas stations and agreed to limit the number of service stations to 118 for three years. The reaction of all the strikers was summarized by this reflection of a bus driver: "If the French state can respond positively to the managers of the gas stations, then it can and should respond positively to the 145 other demands of the strike. "
The authorities must stop blocking the negotiations

On January 28, while negotiations had been going on for the past two days, the Prefect of Guadeloupe read a letter from Secretary of State for Overseas, Yves Jego.

The reading of the letter profoundly shocked the representatives of the trade unions and organizations present and the tens of thousands of Guadeloupeans who listened to the negotiations live on radio and television.

In his letter, the Secretary of State indeed threatened the strikers and the organizations with the legal sanctions and other forms of coercion. He said that a precondition for renewing negotiations was the end to the general strike. Secretary of State Jego then set out the proposals of the French government for this "dialogue": In response to the demand for an increase in the minimum wage of 200 euros, Mr. Jego offered "a premium of 200 euros in April (valid for the whole year) to 40,000 of the poorest households."

An "unacceptable" decision

In response to the demand of a general increase in wages and minimum social standards, Mr. Jego offered "the assurance given to all businesses in Guadeloupe that they will pay no payroll tax on all wages up to 1.4 SMIC (minimum wage). And on this note, the Prefect ended the "negotiations" meeting, while armed reinforcements arrived at Guadeloupe Transal in two planes from French Guyana."

The ultimatum proposal by Jego was rejected by the delegates mandate to negotiate with the authorities, and it was described as "unacceptable" by the Socialist Party MP Mr. Jalton and by the President of the General Council of Guadeloupe. The next day, 60 000 workers and young people demonstrated in Basse-Terre, reiterating the demands of the entire population.

********************

Appeal of Unions of Martinique for a Strike on February 5

"All employees affected are civil service, agriculture, baking, metallurgy, health, construction, factories, service stations, shops, hotels, janitorial and security services, Education, Post Office, CGSSM, CAF, cleaning , the banking sector. We are all concerned: retired, unemployed, people with disability ...

Since January 20, the masses in Guadeloupe have opened the path forward.
The time of unity and the mobilization has come. In all enterprises, we must organize general assemblies to prepare for this great movement. All on strike as of February 5!

*******************
The message of the CUT trade union federation of Brazil, January 29, 2009 (excerpt)

"... The Central Confederation of Workers (CUT) of Brazil is in total solidarity with the general strike of our fellow workers in Guadeloupe and we call on the French government to immediately come back to the negotiating table with the organizations representing the workers and meet the demands put forward by the general strike. "

Julio Turra,
Member of the Executive Committee of the CUT

*********************

"The employers and the representatives of the French state hope to have the strike peter out and then punish the strikers"

International Call of the 49 organizations and democratic workers organizations:

"Despite the commitment signed on behalf of the French government, the official representatives left the negotiating table on Wednesday January 28, 2009 with thinly veiled threats of repression; they had mobilized several dozen mobile troops, in addition to hundreds of other units that had arrived a week before.

The bosses ignore the workers' demands, despite the commitments they signed.

Elected officials subordinate their proposals, which are already far from satisfying the demands, to an agreement with the State, while the latter refuses to return to the negotiating table (...) .

Workers, the people of Guadeloupe do not accept this contempt.

Thus, a demonstration of more than 65,000 (roughly 15% of the total population of Guadeloupe) was held on Friday January 30, 2009, in the streets of Pointe-à-Pitre.
Yet, the French government continues to procrastinate.

Are they waiting for the strike to peter out in order then to repress it?

Dear comrades, dear friends,

On behalf of the international working class solidarity, on behalf of democracy, we again call for your support.

Guadeloupe Workers have the right to fight for their legitimate demands."

ADIM - AFOC - AGPIHM - Akiyo - AN BOUT'AY - ANG - ANKA - ASSE - ASS.AGRICULTEURS NORTHERN LOWER TERRE - ASS.LIBERTE EQUAL JUSTICE - CFTC - CGTG - CNL - COMBAT WORKER - Water Committee - CONVENTION FOR A NEW GUADELOUPE - COPAGUA - CSFG - CTU - ESPERANCE ENVIRONMENT - Faena SNCL - FOR - FSU - GIE SBT - KAMODJAKA - KAP Gwadloup - THE GREENS - MADIC - MAS KA KLE - Mouvman NONM - PCG - SGEP / SNEC / CFTC - SOS B / ENVIRONMENT Earth - SPEG - SUD PTT GWA - SUNICAG - SYMPA CFDT - travay é Peyizan - UDCLCV - UIR CFDT - UNSA - UGTG - UPG - UPLG - UMPG - VOukoum - SNUIPP - ADEIC.

GUADELOUPE
United General Strike Since January 20, 2009

A collective of 47 organizations constituted at the initiative of the UGTG trade union confederation has established a platform of 120 demands

Since January 20, 2009, Guadeloupe has been paralyzed by a general strike called by a collective of 47 organizations constituted at the initiative of the UGTG (the biggest union confederation), which has brought together all the workers and peasants unions, as well as political parties. This collective has established a platform of 120 demands "against over-exploitation."

Guadeloupe has been ravaged by the capitalist crisis, which is aggravated by the colonial domination of the French state. To give one example: A liter of gasoline is 50% more expensive than in the mainland because of the special taxes established by the French state, which implements the EU directives.

On December 16 and 17, 2008, mobilizations took place. It was after this that the collective called for a general strike beginning on January 20 because the demands were not met. Obviously, the strike has tapped into the aspirations of the workers faced with the same policies and offers the path of struggle for unity around this platform of demands.

This mobilization in a Caribbean island on the American continent joined the deep movement of workers and peasant masses of Latin America and the Caribbean in their struggle against the neo-colonial oppression. It is no coincidence that, at the rally held on Saturday January 24 in the streets of Pointe-à-Pitre, one of the most applauded messages was sent by the union and political organizations of Haiti, including the Autonomous Confederation of Haitian Workers (CATH), which said: "We give our support to the fight you are organizing in your country for change, for the decline in the price of gasoline at the pump and against the precariousness of wages. This struggle is that of all the peoples of the Caribbean and that of our country, Haiti, a country ravaged by American capitalism and French colonialism... "
As stated by the Secretary General of the UGTG, Elie Domota, "The UGTG is not the only organization involved. We felt it necessary to go all the way by inviting all political and cultural organizations to struggle alongside the workers."

* * * * *

25,000 Demonstrators in the Streets of Pointe-à-Pitre on January 24

On Saturday, January 24, at the invitation of the Collective against overexploitation, 25,000 protesters gathered in the streets of Pointe-à-Pitre, despite the scarcity of gas that limits travel. Indeed, the 115 service stations in the island have been closed because of the strike. All stores, malls and schools are closed, and utilities are no longer guaranteed, including road transport of passengers.

On Sunday evening, January 25, thousands of demonstrators, again, marched on the streets of Pointe-à-Pitre in response to the appeal of cultural associations that have supported the strike.
The immediate mobilization imposed the opening of negotiations. Thus, a first meeting took place on January 25 between representatives of the community, supported by thousands of protesters, the prefect, Mr. Nicolas Desforges, representatives of employers and local politicians.

The group presented its platform of demands. The meeting lasted until midnight. There were still about 2,000 workers present outside of the building. But neither the bosses nor the prefect had anything to offer, apart from the demand to stop the movement.

Local elected officials have tried to deflect the demands of the strikers by suggesting that the regional council discuss possible measures.

The news was announced that the prefect had sent in two Airbuses with hundreds of mobile guards, who are being held on the tarmac of the airport, ready to intervene immediately. Older union activists recalled that in 1967, during the building workers' strike, the French Government had sent in mobile guards who fired on the crowd of strikers, killing dozens of them.

The memory of this repression remains vivid in the consciousness of the population.
Meanwhile, the rumor is that bosses met on the morning of January 23, deciding to organize a lockout if the movement does not cease.

Negotiations should begin again on Monday the 26th. In the meantime, employers and local elected officials have announced that it is impossible to satisfy the demands such as increased wages of 200 euros, or the increase in minimum social benefits.

On Sunday evening, following the first meeting, the group affirmed its determination to continue the fight until the demands are met, and as of Monday 26, the strike remains total on the island.

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The platform of the collective of 47 organizations formed at the initiative of the UGTG (excerpts)

- The immediate drop of 50 cents in fuel prices.
- The decline in prices of all essential goods and all taxes.
- An increase in the minimum wage to 200 euros.
- The decline in the price of water and transport of passengers.
- Contracts for all precarious workers, public and private (...).
- The development of production to meet the needs of the population.
- The right to education and training for youth and workers of our country.
- Priority in hiring and positions of responsibility for Guadeloupeans and end of racism in hiring (...).
- Freezing rents for an indefinite period and for the year 2009, canceling the increase of 2.98%.
- Set aside 50,000 hectares of agricultural area as a protected agricultural zone and setting up a committee for its annaul evaluation.
- Exemption from taxes for the benefit of farmers throughout the country.
- Representation of trade unions in Guadeloupe in all companies and joint bodies (ASSEDIC, Social Security, CAF, AGEFOS, SME, Fong, CIF ...).
- Commencement of proceedings for the reconstruction of the hospital.
- The urgent development of transport networks Š
- Taking into account in the media the language and culture Guadeloupe through the presence of representatives of cultural associations in the boardroom (...).
ADIM - AFOC - AGPIHM - Akiyo - AN BOUT'AY - ANG - ANKA - ASSE - ASS. Farmers in northern Basse-Terre - Ass. Liberty, Equality, Justice - CFTC - CGTG - CNL - Combat ouvrier - Water Committee - Convention for a new Guadeloupe - COPAGUA - CSFG - CTU - Espérance environment - Faena SNCL - FOR - FSU - GIE SBT - Kamodjaka - KAP Gwadloup - The Greens - MADIC - MAS KA KLE - Mouvman NONM - PCG - SGEP / SNEC / CFTC - SOS Low-Earth environment - SPEG - SUD PTT GWA - SUNICAG - SYMPA CFDT - travay é Peyizan - UDCLCV - UIR CFDT - UNSA - UGTG - UPG - UPLG - UMPG - VOUKOUM.
********************

APPEAL by the UGTG to the International Democratic and Workers' Movements

Dear comrades, dear friends,

The French colonial power is preparing to punish the workers, youth, and people of Guadeloupe and their organizations.
In response to the call of 47 trade unions, political organizations, consumer associations, popular cultural associations, a general strike began on January 20, 2009 ..., and a march was attended by more than 25,000 people in streets of Pointe-à-Pitre.

In the platform of demands to the employers, the elected representatives of the State, the workers and people demand, among other things:

- The immediate increase in wages, pensions, and social benefits. In Guadeloupe over 100,000 people live below the poverty line in a population of about 450,000 inhabitants;
- Defense and the creation of jobs, including training for youth;
- Defense and the development of production;
- The protection and improvement of union rights;
- The drop in rents.

The bosses and elected officials have already expressed their desire not to meet the demands even before opening negotiations.

They want the workers to "be reasonable and to return to work."
The employers will start a lockout, aiming to push people toward confrontations and then ask the colonial power to suppress them. Thus, several hundred members of law enforcement arrived in Guadeloupe a few days ago, armed to the teeth.

Dear comrades, dear friends,

This situation was seen in May 1967, when the French government killed more than 100 Guadeloupeans in response to a strike in the building trades. Always the same thing: they asked the striking workers to be reasonable, to return to work.

On behalf of the rights of workers and the people of Guadeloupe to fight for their legitimate demands, we call for international solidarity.

Pointe-à-Pitre, on January 26, 2009

signed/

Elie Domota
Secretary-General,
UGTG

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Urgent

Message from the ILC
Support workers on strike in Guadeloupe with their organizations

The French authorities continue to obstruct the negotiations and refuse to meet the strikers' demands

Paris, January 29, 2009

For ten days, the workers, the working population and the youth of Guadeloupe have been engaged in a general strike in unity with their organizations, including all organizations, for emergency measures facing the crisis. They demand in particular an increase of 200 Euros of the minimum wage, an increase of all the minimum social protections and over one hundred other demands defined by the working population itself through the 47 organizations that comprise the Strike Collective.
The ILC, which from the beginning has supported their demand to open real negotiations, shall inform all workers and all democratic organizations of workers of the real news concerning the strike:

Yesterday, on January 28, while negotiations had been initiated for two days, the prefect of Guadeloupe read to the delegates of 47 organizations a letter from the Secretary of State for Overseas, Mr. Yves Jego, a letter which deeply shocked the representatives of unions and organizations present, as well as tens of thousands of Guadeloupeans listening live on radio and on television to the ongoing negotiations.

Threatening the strikers and the organizations with legal sanctions, demanding the cessation of the strike before the opening a dialogue period (the prefect of Guadeloupe who read this letter set the duration to be four months), the Secretary of State Jego outlined the proposals of the French government for this "dialogue":

In response to the demand of an increased minimum wage of 200 euros, Mr. Jego offers "a subsidy of 200 euros in April (valid for the whole year) to 40,000 Guadeloupean households, affecting the poorest families."

In response to the demand for contracts for precarious workers, on the contrary he offered employers "8,284 aid contracts, which is 1550 higher than in 2008."

In response to the demand for a general increase in wages and social protections, Mr. Jego offered "the assurance given to all businesses in Guadeloupe they pay no payroll tax on all wages up to 1.4 SMIC (minimum wage) and even up to 1.6 for certain sectors such as tourism."

On this basis, which marks a refusal of all of the demands made by the striking workers and their organizations, the prefect decided to leave the negotiating session, while mobile police reinforcements arrived in two planes at Guadeloupe Transal from Guyana.

The proposal was immediately rejected by the delegates present and described as "unacceptable" by the SP delegate, Mr. Jalton and by the President of the General Council of Guadeloupe.

The ILC reaffirms: it is not by repression, not by the deployment of police and shock troops, that the conflict will be resolved.

The only solution for the general strike is first and foremost today the resumption of meaningful negotiations, the return of the Prefect of Guadeloupe and other representatives of the French government to the negotiating table.
The ILC calls on all workers, activists, and democratic organizations of workers to support the workers and organizations in Guadeloupe and demand that the French authorities end their obstruction of negotiations and satisfy the demands of the strikers.

signed/
Daniel Gluckstein
Coordinator of the ILC

*****

Send your messages to:

Collectif des 47 organisations
UGTG, Rue Paul Lacavé 97 110 Point-à-Pitre Guadeloupe
Fax : International : 00 335 90 89 08 70
France : 05 90 89 08 70
Email : ugtg@wanadoo.fr

With a copy to:

Préfet de Guadeloupe
Rue Lardenoy 97 100 Basse Terre
Fax :
International : 00 335 90 81 58 32
France : 05 90 81 58 32

M. Yves Jego Secrétaire d'Etat chargé de l'Outre-Mer
27, Rue Oudinot 75 007 Paris
Fax :
International : 00 331 53 69 28 04
France : 01 53 69 28 04