a call for a general strike launched in the nickel industry

What future for the three nickel refining plants on the archipelago on the verge of bankruptcy? The General Union of Industrial Workers of New Caledonia (SGTI-NC) is calling, Saturday January 20, for a general strike on January 25 in the nickel sector. This union is demanding that shareholders participate in the rescue of the three metallurgical factories in the territory, while the New Caledonian nickel sector should obtain financial support from the State.

“The State will still put money on the table, and in the end, it is the Caledonians who will pay, while the shareholders make exorbitant profits,” declared Glen Delathiere, delegate of the SGTI-NC, majority shareholder in Société Le Nickel (SLN) and which presents itself as the first in the sector in New Caledonia, at a press conference. Several subcontractor organizations have announced that they are joining the movement, the aim of which is to “denounce the looting of our wealth”added Glen Delathiere.

During a visit to the territory at the end of November, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, estimated the immediate financing needs of the three nickel factories in the archipelago (KNS, SLN and Prony resources) at 1.5 billion euros. However, in the fall, the main shareholders of each industrial company (Glencore for KNS, Eramet for SLN and the South province for Prony resources) had indicated that they would no longer provide new financing for their industrial sites.