Caledonians want to kick out Pinoys

NOUMEA (AFP) — About 500 people marched through the New Caledonian capital Noumea yesterday to protest high prices in the French territory and demand the expulsion of expatriate workers from the Philippines.

Hundreds of protesters earlier blockaded the headquarters of Goro Nickel, a subsidiary of Canadian mining group Inco, after a call for strike action by the Federation of New Caledonian Workers Union (CSTNC).

"We have to kick out the Filipinos," said CSTNC secretary general Sylvain Nea.

"Every day we’ll get more powerful," he added.

Anger has grown over the presence of Filipino workers building a Goro Nickel metal-working factory in the south of the French territory.

The building site has slowed to "minimal activity," with the return to Noumea of more than a third of the 2,800 people working there.

Most employees of French catering giant Sodexho, which was providing on-site facilities, had joined the strike which started on Monday, a Goro Nickel spokesman said.

The four mining operations of Societe Le Nickel, part of French metals group Eramet, have also been blocked since Tuesday.

Security forces intervened on Wednesday to remove protesters blockading the Total-Mobil fuel depot.

CSTNC is demanding the removal of the local government as well as the expulsion of Filipino workers, taxes on high earnings and that a greater share of New Caledonia’s mineral wealth remain in the territory.

Its demands have been described as "unrealistic" by Didier Leroux, the government’s chief economist, who says authorities have put in place a series of measures to fight inflation.