92 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
92 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
The **Tahitian General Strike of 2010** was a [general
|
||
strike](List_of_General_Strikes "wikilink") in Tahiti ([French
|
||
Polynesia](French_Polynesia "wikilink"), a
|
||
[colony](French_Empire "wikilink") of [France](France "wikilink")) in
|
||
[2010](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Oceania "wikilink") calling
|
||
for massive economic reform.
|
||
|
||
## Background
|
||
|
||
Tahiti
|
||
|
||
Tahiti was first made into a French colony in 1880 and then, along with
|
||
the rest of the Polynesian islands, became a French territory in 1946.
|
||
Since then, Tahiti has been the economic center of French Polynesia.
|
||
|
||
Under the government of Charles de Gaulle, France began testing nuclear
|
||
weapons in the Pacific Ocean near French Polynesia. The testing would
|
||
continue for 36 years, before nuclear testing was officially put to an
|
||
end after international protest in 1996. The collateral damage of the
|
||
tests would affect the French Polynesian population for years and years.
|
||
Internal studies from French Polynesia suggested that even ten years
|
||
after the last test, the magnified effects of the nuclear testing were
|
||
responsible for up to 600 cases of cancer and 250 deaths per year.
|
||
|
||
Once the tests concluded, the French Polynesian economy suffered. In
|
||
2006, French Polynesia slipped into a recession and one economist
|
||
estimated the unemployment rate to be at 20%. As unemployment increased,
|
||
the gap between the rich and the poor continued to widen.
|
||
|
||
In 2010, situations in Tahiti and in the rest of French Polynesia had
|
||
not improved. The news of the recession and the side effects of the
|
||
nuclear testing intensified resentment on the islands. Consequently, on
|
||
June 4, several Tahitian labor unions announced the possibility of a
|
||
future strike if measures were not taken to improve the economy. On the
|
||
same day, a major Tahitian labor union, A Tia I Mua, announced that it
|
||
would not be participating in the strike because the economy was not
|
||
ready for it. Four days later, representatives from the unions met with
|
||
Tahitian president, Gaston Tong Sang, to negotiate a preventative
|
||
agreement. The demands of the labor unions were: secure pensions,
|
||
unemployment insurance, welfare reform, and for France to pay the
|
||
healthcare costs for victims of radiation exposure from the nuclear
|
||
testing. After debating which of the representatives were going to meet
|
||
with the president, the unions met with Tong Sang, but did not reach an
|
||
agreement.
|
||
|
||
After unsuccessful negotiations, the coalition of labor unions started a
|
||
general strike on June 10. The coalition, which called itself the
|
||
Collective for Peace (CFP), was composed of port workers, airport fire
|
||
fighters, civil servants, teachers, and hospital workers. The Collective
|
||
for Peace promised not to blockade the roads because it did not want to
|
||
interfere with high school exams. Local church leaders also spoke out
|
||
against road blockades, warning not to disrupt the daily lives of the
|
||
Tahitian people.
|
||
|
||
The next day, the CFP met with President Tong Sang in order to reopen
|
||
negotiations, but the CFP representatives left the meeting after just
|
||
two unproductive hours. Another negative moment for the campaign
|
||
occurred when two striking airport firemen were forced to work in order
|
||
to assure a plane’s safe landing. In retaliation, the CFP broke its
|
||
promise and set up blockades on one of the main roads in Tahiti’s
|
||
capital city, Papeete. The road connected to an area where Tahiti’s
|
||
gasoline and fuel tanks were stored. The blockade nearly paralyzed the
|
||
port and the airport; 2,500 travelers were left stranded at Tahiti’s
|
||
airport.
|
||
|
||
More negotiations were held on Friday June 11 between Tong Sang and the
|
||
CFP, but meetings once again ended abruptly and unsuccessfully; the
|
||
meeting began Friday afternoon and ended at 4 a.m. on Saturday. No
|
||
further meetings were held over the weekend.
|
||
|
||
Long periods of negotiation resumed on Monday, the 14th. By this point,
|
||
Tahiti’s economy was suffering. Local stations were running out of fuel,
|
||
as the road to the fuel storage remained obstructed. Consequently, many
|
||
flights to and from Tahiti were canceled or delayed.
|
||
|
||
By 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the general strike was called off because
|
||
negotiations concluded with an agreement supported by both parties. The
|
||
agreement ordered the end of the general strike on the conditions that
|
||
President Tong Sang would meet with the International Labour
|
||
Organisation in order to investigate the viability of an unemployment
|
||
insurance fund and also that he attend negotiations in Paris to discuss
|
||
pensions for civil servants. The CFP agreed to the accord despite it not
|
||
achieving any of its stated goals. All Tong Sang agreed to was to
|
||
consider two of the CFP’s demands: unemployment insurance and secure
|
||
pensions. The CFP had no success reaching an agreement about
|
||
compensation for victims of radiation exposure or about comprehensive
|
||
welfare reform. History will label this general strike a major failure
|
||
because it did not meet its stated goals and the strike burdened Tahiti
|
||
with even more economic loss. Tourism professionals released a statement
|
||
indicating that Tahiti was set to lose $10 million because of the
|
||
general strike. The statement also speculated that the strike would have
|
||
a negative effect on future tourist trips to Tahiti. |