Guadeloupe wage agreement reached

An agreement to increase the salaries of some of the lowest paid workers in Guadeloupe was not enough to end a six-week strike that has paralysed the economy of the French Caribbean island.



Leaders of the Collective Against Exploitation have been organising the protests.



They say while they have secured a deal to provide a US$254 monthly boost for lower wage earners, they will continue their industrial action until the central government in Paris addresses spiralling prices.



Yesterday French President Nicolas Sarkozy admitted that not everything had been resolved, but said finally progress was being made.



Sarkozy is expected, in the coming weeks, to visit Guadeloupe and neighbouring Martinique - where the strikes spread in early February.