06 August 2009 - 03H09
New Caledonia union and Aircal reach draft agreement amid unrest
The USTKE trade union and Aircal leadership have reached a draft agreement in New Caledonia, after clashes between security forces and protesters flared up again in the French Pacific territory, injuring two policemen and four activists.
REUTERS - New Caledonian union protesters and authorities have signed an accord ending a week of violent clashes sparked by an airline labour dispute in the South Pacific archipelago, a French government official said on Thursday.
The dispute at Aircal, owned by the government, had escalated over the past week with unionists calling for a general strike and with clashes between police and protesters.
The clashes, which began over the sacking of a flight attendant, left 28 gendarmes injured. Police arrested 13 protesters. Television images over the past week showed burning barricades along a main road into the capital, Noumea.
“The situation is completely back to normal. A protocol has been signed during the night,” said Michele Lajus, spokeswoman at the Haut Commissariat in Noumea.
“There are no more roadblocks or barricades,” the French government official said.
Police reinforcements have been sent from Paris, but police in Noumea said they were no longer needed.
New Caledonia, a major nickel exporter, is one of several overseas French territories that have experienced unrest this year. Guadelupe, in the Caribbean, and the Reunion in the Indian Ocean have also been hit by strikes and clashes.
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