In Martinique, heavy goods vehicles and taxis paralyzed a good part of the economic activity Monday, at the call of trade union organizations protesting in particular against the obligation to vaccinate caregivers, we learned from a police source.
Monday morning access to the port of Fort-de-France, the refinery and several commercial areas of the island was blocked, said the departmental directorate of public security. Several municipalities have reported disruptions in school catering and reception in primary schools.
Several grounds for dispute
Traffic was fluid on Martinique’s main roads, however, motorists told AFP. On the other hand, the public transport of the community of agglomeration of the center of the island is partially disrupted due to the various dams, warned the transport authority of the center.
These blockages are part of the call for a general strike launched by 17 trade union organizations with various demands, including the end of the vaccination obligation and suspensions for caregivers, but also the increase in wages and salaries. social minima and lower fuel and gas prices.
A demonstration in Fort-de-France
The unions are also asking for the full support of tests for chlordeconemia, a disease linked to chlordecone, this pesticide widely used in banana fields between 1972 and 1993, and suspected of being responsible for many diseases such as prostate cancer.
The trade union centers launched a call to demonstrate in the streets of Fort-de-France on Monday morning. At 8:30 am (Martinique time), around 600 people were already present at the meeting place, a police source told AFP, but between 2,000 and 3,000 demonstrators are expected in the streets of the city center of the capital of Martinique .