22 Feb 2008

New Caledonia's USTKE union is set to hold a so-called general strike

11:44 am on 22 February 2008

New Caledonia's USTKE union is set to hold a so-called general strike today as about 20 union members are to appear in court over the disturbances at a Noumea bus depot last month.

14 of them have been in custody since the clashes with the police which broke out after the unionists refused to disperse from publicly owned land next to the bus depot at the centre of their industrial action.

The violence saw many suffering injuries and police vehicles go up in flames.

There have been union demonstrations in protest at the arrests.

The union has also decided to lay charges against the French government for excessive violence, saying some of its members suffered broken noses and broken ribs.