Declaration of the 44th Annual Convention of
Doro-Chiba
September 27, 2015
Doro-Chiba adopted unanimously a new policy of struggle on the 44th
Annual Convention today held in the Union Hall. We resolutely confront
with the second round offensive of the Division and Privatization by
the JR Companies and also advance the fight against the rejection of
a final appeal for the Japan Railways' employment discrimination at
the time of the Division and Privatization of JNR in 1987.
Doro-Chiba made a final appeal in regard to the above case to the Supreme
Court in 2013, but on June 30 of this year, the Court denied the appeal.
This reactionary decision of the Supreme Court was an attempt to peremptorily
put a period to the National Railway Struggle. Under the explosive situation
of railroading the war legislation, the state power was finally forced
to make a decision of dismantling militant labor movement at large.
However, our consistent struggle has driven the Supreme Court into the
corner. The Court was obliged to admit that the JR and the state power
itself had committed unfair labor practices in its policy making of
discriminating re-employment and dismissal at the time of the Division
and Privatization. At last the bedrock of the assault of Division and
Privatization of National Railway was shaken! This is a significant
victory.
Our thirty year-long struggle has never let the Division and Privatization
of JNR slide by as a past issue and prevented the completion of Rengo
(system-friendly Japanese Trade Union Confederation) which was established
to destroy militant labor movements in 1989.
Our persistent struggle against the Division and Privatization of JNR
has defended labor movements and the rights of workers in the nick of
time. Now we launch a fresh struggle to have the unfair dismissal withdrawn
and laid-off workers reinstated.
We are now drawing up a strike plan to protest against the planned outsourcing
toward October 1, the day our members were forced to go on loan to the
subcontractor three years ago. We claim; “Cancel immediately our
outsourcing contract and reinstate all jobs to JR!” The privatizing
and outsourcing issues have not at all been settled yet. An all-out
struggle starts from now on.
We denounce Abe administration with fierce anger for railroading the
war legislation. However, this historic abominable onslaught has released
millions of workers’ anger and let them swing into action, On
August 30, more than 120,000 people occupied and liberated the closed
area in front of the Diet building, breaking through the police’s
cordon. The corrupt knots of Japan Communist Party (JCP) and Rengo became
terrified and tried to calm the situation within the framework of co-opted
opposition forces. But the protest action grew more and more militant
every day and sparked a heavy clash with police power for a week. The
history began to change then.
In addition to that, Abe administration is pushing its way to privatize
the whole social institutions and shift all workers to non-regular (precarious
or temporary) employment. The Worker Dispatch Act was forcibly revised
for the worse that got called the “big switch since 1985”.
The National Strategic Economic Zone, a core element of Abenomics’
growth strategy, is now substantially taking form. Around half of whole
municipalities—896 of them—are at the brink of disappearing.
Everything—education, healthcare, social security, etc.—is
now about to be destroyed.
It has been four and a half years since the March 11 disaster, 2011.
Far from being “under control” (Abe’s big lie to attract
Olympic Games in 2020), the radioactive contamination from wrecked Fukushima
nuclear power plant continues to expand further now. In spite of such
circumstances, Abe administration enforced the restart of Sendai nuclear
power plant in Kyushu while proceeds with the scheme of “earthquake
disaster reconstruction” actually abandoning Fukushima people
in despair. Outrage at the vicious acts of government erupts in Fukushima,
Okinawa, Sanrizuka and everywhere.
Chinese bubble economy has finally begun to burst and the ruling classes
all over the world are deadly scared by it. Millions of refugees from
the Middle East and North Africa are moving toward Europe for sheer
survival. This is the terrible reality that has been brought forth by
the wars repeated by Imperialism and Stalinism. The postwar world system
has collapsed. Everything has now started to heat up toward the boiling
point.
“Split Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation)!” Abe
administration is screaming and is aiming to realign labor movement,
transforming unions into pro-war-collaborator, reminiscent of the war-time
Sangyo Hokokukai (Industrial Patriotic Association) founded in 1940.
We must stop it at any cost.
The power of workers in unity is the driving force that fundamentally
changes this society. Let’s bring the class-struggle labor movement
to the forefront of this age now!
The situation of Japan Railways is changing drastically, alarmed by
the collapse of the Division and Privatization of National Railways
and the mass retirement problem. (As an inevitable result of hiring
freeze in 1980s and early 1990s, the JR will soon face huge shortage
of skilled workers because the whole generation hired before the freeze
is now approaching their retirement age).
JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku, JR Freight and almost all rural lines are on
the brink of bankruptcy.
Serious accidents repeatedly occur almost every day. The incredible
breakdown of rail safety is currently going on. In JR Freight workers’
wages have been forced to decrease. The Privatization of JR has proved
to be a complete failure.
The most important cause of frequent accidents lies in the collapse
of skill transfer between generations, inconsistency of directions and
widespread irresponsibility in every field of operation, all of which
are the results of outsourcing.
The second round offensive of the Division and Privatization has begun,
claiming “Innovation like the D & P of National Railways!”
“Change way of working!”
Its core is defined as “Outsourcing Revolution”, that is,
unprecedented wholesale outsourcing, casualization of workforce and
renewed assault of dismantling National Railways labor movement.
The planned abolition of Chiba Driver’s Depot and establishment
of Chiba Transport Depot have a decisive strategic position in their
scheme of breakthrough of this offensive, in a word streamlining measures.
We are determined to stand up squarely against this assault.
The struggle to smash outsourcing has a particular significance for
our victorious perspective.
Doro-Chiba has uncompromisingly waged for fifteen years the struggle
against outsourcing and casualization and has delayed the practice of
this scheme for about ten years. In the midst of the struggle, Doro-Chiba
has increased its membership. Moreover significant numbers of colleagues
of CTS (Chiba Railway Service, a subcontractor of the JR East Company)
have begun to join us.
It marks an epoch for unions to prove the possibility of standing up
for a fresh struggle against neoliberal assaults.
Stop outsourcing! Let’s fight by full strength of union power
to establish an extension of the retirement age and working conditions
to be able to work until retirement at the age of 65! Stop work intensification
of “To go would be hell, to stay would be hell.”!
Fight unyieldingly against abolition of local lines! Let’s struggle
against rationalization and for rail safety!
Let’s fight, in the next year at Spring Labor Offensive, to strengthen
our union and to prevent enactment of the war legislation!
Our most important task is continued organizing in both JR and CTS;
already twelve colleagues of CTS have joined in Doro-Chiba.
We should concentrate all of our power to strengthen the unity and gain
many members to our union. Let’s set up links of Doro-Sorengo
(Federation of National Railway Motive Power Unions) all over Japan!
Let’s organize November Workers Rally with 10 thousand participants,
and overthrow reactionary Abe administration with its drive for war
and further privatization!
Let’s revitalize labor movement in solidarity with KCTU (Korean
Confederation of Trade Unions) now rising up for general strike!
We determined to strike in our workplace.
DORO-CHIBA (DC): National Railway Motive Power Union of CHIBA
Email: doro-chiba@doro-chiba.org
Web: https://doro-chiba.org/
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