20th February 2009

Collectif des 47 organisations
UGTG
Rue Paul Lacavé 97 110
Point-à-Pitre
Guadeloupe

Dear Comrades

The National Workers’ Union (NWU) of Trinidad and Tobago extends fraternal solidarity from a fellow

Caribbean people to the Collectif des 47 organisations and to the workers and people of Guadeloupe in their

struggle to overcome the devastating effects of the international economic crisis which has forced you to adopt

the tactic of general strike against the extreme exploitation that has marked the history of Guadeloupe.

We unreservedly condemn the action of the French State in unleashing the power of its armed forces against the

youth of your country who are in the forefront of the fight for a decent, civilised way of life. This state violence is

reminiscent of the May 1967 massacre of unarmed workers by the armed forces of the state – an event which is

burned into the memory of the people of Guadeloupe.

We support your demands for an immediate increase in wages, pensions, and social benefits, a decrease in fuel

prices, water rates and the cost of transport. We support your demands for reduction in the prices of essential

goods and the easing of the tax burden. We support your demands for job security and job creation including

training for youth, for the protection and improvement of trade union rights and for a decrease in rents.

We call upon the French authorities to withdraw the armed forces from Guadeloupe and to negotiate with the

representatives of the Guadeloupean people in struggle in an effort to defuse or mitigate the worsening

conditions of the working people and the poor.