CTOS strike goes into fifth day with no agreements yet in sight | THE DAILY HERALD

Demonstrators sit at tables outside Hotel de la Collectivité on Tuesday as the CTOS strike enters its fifth day. (Robert Luckock photo)

 

MARIGOT–The strike by workers of Caisse Territoriale des Oeuvres Scolaires (CTOS) and some from the Collectivité stretched into the fifth working day on Tuesday with little sign of any agreements reached between the Collectivité and the unions Union des Travailleurs de Collectivités (UTC) and Union Generale des Travailleurs de Guadeloupe (UGTG).

  The strike began last week Wednesday when access to Hotel de la Collectivité was blocked, but that has not been repeated since then.

  The main grievance has been the termination and non-renewal of 16 CTOS staff contracts and 17 from the Collectivité.

  Demonstrators have been sitting on tables and chairs biding their time, playing dominos and occupying the parking spaces at the back of the building usually reserved for the President of the Collectivité and other officials, and collecting at the front of the building in small groups.

  Posters indicating the grievances have been attached to perimeter fences at the front and back of the building. The Gendarmerie and Police Territorial have been monitoring the situation, which has been peaceful.

  Secretary of the St. Martin section of UTC-UGTG Nicole Javois told reporters the strikers are still waiting for certain documents to be produced by the Collectivité before negotiations can start.

  These pertain to “arrêtés” concerning contracts of workers dismissed in December, career opportunities, organisation of afterschool activities, and indemnities. The reason for the hold-up on the documents was not clear.

  Meanwhile, some schools have been mysteriously chained and padlocked to prevent entry of students and teachers. This occurred at Siméon Trott School on Friday, in Grand Case at Ghislaine Rogers and Elie Gibs Schools on Monday morning, and in Sandy Ground on Tuesday.  The unions deny any involvement in these incidents.

  The Gendarmerie intervened to break open the chains and padlocks to allow staff and students to enter.

  A meeting between the union representatives and Préfète Déléguée Sylvie Feucher and President Daniel Gibbs was supposed to take place on Tuesday morning, but was turned down by the unions.

  The Préfecture said in a statement on Tuesday, “The President of the Collectivité has received a delegation from the strikers on several occasions. They presented a list of demands and grievances, the main ones being the situation of 16 staff on contracts that cannot be renewed (16 from CTOS and 17 from the Collectivité). No agreement has been reached.

  “The Préfecture and the Collectivité proposed to receive a delegation in the Préfecture this morning [Tuesday – Ed.] at 8:00am to try and resolve the issues. This proposal was not accepted by the strikers who are refusing to mediate.

  “The Préfète and the President of the Collectivité nevertheless wish to keep the invitation open and remain at the disposal of the strikers to find solutions.”

Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/85004-ctos-strike-goes-into-fifth-day-with-no-agreements-yet-in-sight

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