75 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
75 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
The **Tongan General Strike of 2005** was a
|
||
[strike](List_of_Strikes "wikilink") by public service workers in
|
||
[Tonga](Tonga "wikilink") in
|
||
[2005](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Oceania "wikilink").
|
||
|
||
## Background
|
||
|
||
At the time, Tonga was an undemocratic monarchy with no history of
|
||
strikes or a workers movement since these were heavily repressed.
|
||
|
||
## Events
|
||
|
||
Despite their lack of unionization, on the 22nd of July, 2005, 2000 of
|
||
the country’s 5000 public servants went on strike to call for pay raises
|
||
for all public servants. This was in response to wage raises given to
|
||
senior public servants but denied all other public servants. That same
|
||
day, about 1000 public servants rallied in the capital of Nuku’alofa in
|
||
a protest organized by the Public Servants Association (PSA). They set
|
||
up canopies in Pangai Si’I, a park near the parliament building, singing
|
||
songs, eating, and talking. The strikers met there daily for the
|
||
majority of the rest of the campaign. Early that day the strikers had
|
||
been told by the parliament to express their grievances through the
|
||
approved process of taking it up with their department heads, but Tonga
|
||
Finau, one of the leaders of the PSA, decided that going directly to the
|
||
government was the only way to create change. The Prime Minister asked
|
||
strikers to return to their work, but with no success. Within the next
|
||
three days, many government ministries were closed due to understaffing.
|
||
For instance, the Ministry of Lands had only 20% of its workforce, while
|
||
only 2 people showed up for work at the Ministry of Labour. That same
|
||
day, 1400 public school teachers joined the strike in support of the
|
||
civil servants. After two days of ambiguous commitment on the part of
|
||
the teachers, all 115 public primary schools and 8 of the country’s
|
||
secondary schools closed early for the August holidays. According to the
|
||
Ministry of Education, only 114 secondary schools teachers in the
|
||
country showed up to work on the 22nd, and 134 on the 25th.
|
||
|
||
On the 25th of July, over 2000 public servants held a rally at Queen
|
||
Salote Hall and then marched on the parliament building at noon to
|
||
present a letter of petition to the Speaker of the House demanding 60%,
|
||
70%, and 80% pay raises for different levels work, no disciplinary
|
||
repercussions against strikers upon returning to work, and a two year
|
||
suspension of the salary review that had been scheduled before the
|
||
strike. Upon receiving it, he told the strikers that it would be looked
|
||
over in parliament. However, no action was taken on their part to
|
||
resolve the dispute. Meanwhile, the strikers continued to hold rallies
|
||
on Pangai Si’I. The private sector was also impacted by the strike both
|
||
due to the buying power of those striking, in addition to the connection
|
||
government-paid jobs had with the private sector. For example, the
|
||
unloading of airline freights was almost completely halted because only
|
||
one customs official was showing up for work. Soon health workers in
|
||
Nuku’alofa joined the movement. Workers at Tonga’s main Vaiola Hospital
|
||
decided to meet at a church in the city and march to Pangai Si’I in the
|
||
middle of the city to join the strikers on the lawn. They sent a warning
|
||
letter to the cabinet, and were met with a reply from the minister of
|
||
health saying that the government could not meet the strikers’ demands.
|
||
This prompted the health workers to join the strike after deeming this
|
||
an inadequate answer. They had had a short meeting that morning in which
|
||
they decided to meet at the church in their uniforms and to join the
|
||
over 3000 public servants at Pangai Si’I.
|
||
|
||
On the 17th of August, scores of students were arrested for ransacking
|
||
their school, Tonga College, and torching several government cars after
|
||
threatening to burn government buildings if authorities did not move to
|
||
settle the strike. They were also demanding the reinstatement of the
|
||
college principal and other senior staff who had been dismissed for
|
||
supporting the strike. Although the vandalism was not sanctioned by the
|
||
PSA, the media jumped on this as an outbreak of violence in the
|
||
campaign. The [New Zealand](New_Zealand "wikilink") government offered
|
||
to help Tonga resolve the strike in response to the violence, but the
|
||
PSA refused.
|
||
|
||
## Results
|
||
|
||
The strike saw a 70% wage increase, no disciplinary actions against
|
||
strikers and increased democratisation in Tonga. |