Guadeloupe
The protests initially began in Guadeloupe on 20 January 2009. An umbrella group of approximately fifty labour union and other associations known in the local Antillean Creole as the Liyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon (LKP) called for a €200 (US$260) monthly pay increase for the island's low income workers. The protesters proposed that authorities "lower business taxes as a top up to company finances" to pay for the €200 pay raises. Employers and business leaders in Guadeloupe said that they could not afford the salary increase.
Approximately 50,000 Guadeloupeans were reported to have taken part in the demonstrations. The Liyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon (LKP), which launched the protests, is also known as the "Stand up against exploitation" in English or the "Collectif contre l'exploitation outrancière" in French.
The government of France sent the Junior Minister of Overseas France Yves Jégo to Guadeloupe to negotiate with disgruntled employees and protesters. He proposed a deal to increase the salaries of 45,000 Guadeloupean workers by about $300. However, Jégo triggered much criticism among Guadeloupean strikers when he suddenly returned to Paris on Monday 9 February for a crisis meeting with French Prime Minister François Fillon.
Jégo's departure for the meeting in Paris with Prime Minister Fillon and other ministers was denounced by union leaders as a sign of "contempt" for LKP and their supporters during a time of crisis. Demonstrations erupted across Guadeloupe in response to Jégo's trip to France. More than 10,000 people marched in Pointe-à-Pitre, the largest city in Guadeloupe, while an additional 1,500 protesters gathered in Basse-Terre, the capital city. Protesters chanted, "la Gwadloup se tan nou, la Gwadloup a pa ta yo, yo peke fe sa yo vle an peyi an nou", which translates to "Guadeloupe is ours, it is not theirs, they will not do what they want in our country." Demonstrators forced the closure of local stores and businesses in those cities. However, the stores reopened as soon as the protesters passed by.
Jégo returned to Guadeloupe (and Martinique) later in the week, but Guadeloupean protesters remained angered by his perceived slight. A leader of the LKP, Élie Domota, told France Inter radio that, "The mediators have nothing new to tell us. They came supposedly to bring the parties closer together but they know nothing about the situation here. We are saying that the state has to help small Guadeloupe businesses to develop, to have access to bank credits, and also to pay for our wage increases." Jégo's original proposal, which would have increased the salaries of at least 45,000 workers by nearly US$300 per month, quickly fell apart. The unions demanded that the government alleviate extra cost by slashing payroll taxes. The French government flatly rejected the idea of cutting payroll taxes. The LKP thus suspended negotiations with mediators on Thursday 12 February 2009.
George Pau-Langevin, a French Socialist MP who was born in Guadeloupe but represents a portion of Paris, said that Guadeloupeans were not just protesting low incomes, but also "the indecent profits of big fuel and import-export companies." Guadeloupean deputy Victorin Lurel denounced the high price of fuel on the island as a "scandal."
The main shipping container terminal at the port in Pointe-à-Pitre was closed and barricaded by protesters. Most Guadeloupean banks, schools, and government offices remained closed throughout the duration of the strike. All of Guadeloupe's 115 gas stations were closed in response to the strike. The strikes resulted in sporadic power outages and limited running water as utility workers walked off their jobs to join the protests. Supermarkets remained closed, and food imports were halted.
The strikes hit at the height of Guadeloupe's main tourism season. Guadeloupe depends on tourists, especially from France, for a significant portion of its economic income. Several hotels closed temporarily and charter flights from France and other parts of the Caribbean were canceled. Club Méditerranée, known more widely as Club Med, closed its main hotel on Guadeloupe in late January. Thousands of French tourists canceled their vacations to Guadeloupe as a result of the strike.
Read more about this topic: 2009 French Caribbean General Strikes