Strike Report No.2
WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED 3-DAY STRIKE!
Our unity was solid. All the Doro-Chiba railway trade union members
struck from 12th to 14th March with solid resolution.
Two hundred thirty one trains were cancelled. The strike
has revealed the safety problem of privatised Japan Railway (JR) Co.,
created a sensation, and reaped a rich harvest. It was a marvellous
strike and had a sure grip on all the members.
NO TO TIGHTENING OF 6 MINS AND 40 SECS
Chiba district of JR Co., however, did shorten the driving time on
Sobu regular and rapid line on 13 March. So, from now on, everyday becomes
the fight for safety driving. We cannot let fatal accidents like in
Higashi-Nakano occur again. Doro-Chiba union gives appeal to all its
members and all the train drivers: No matter how train delays, we should
never drive unreasonably. We have to save the lives of ourselves and
our passengers. Write down all the delays on official driving report.
Each day is the fight. Let's make the boss retreat and have to change
the time table to the older one.
The rail tracks are about to break and to trigger serious accidents
just as we have disclosed in our strike. Maintenance has also been half
destroyed because of subcontracting of its whole works. We need to have
a courage to stop trains as we realise a trouble, to have a pride not
to obey any orders that violate driving code. No fight, no safety! As
chewing on the meaning
of this slogan, let' go forward!
WE WON THE FIRST HALF OF THE SPRING LABOUR OFFENSIVE
The
1st round of Spring Labour Offensive this year was non-cooperation fight
starting from 10 February. It was the fight against Compulsive Transfer
of Workplace and Unfair Labour Practice. Especially, we were focusing
on the inspection workplace where majority of workers are retiring in
just a couple of years. We've won an achievement.
The 2nd round strike was the fight against "rationalisation"
and for driving safety which was fought on 12, 13 and 14 March. We struck
against subcontracting and deregulation. The strike - the direct and
collective action by rank and file workers - was the fundamental power
to reveal the reality of "safety" in JR Co. where accidents
are supposed to be concealed. Our fight made the boss apologise for
that.
As JR-Union works for the boss not for workers, and as Kokuro and Tetsusan-Roren
have organised no fight, fruit of our fight has a huge meaning. It has
showed everyone that united workers will never be defeated.
FIGHT FOR 20 MARCH, AND TO THE END OF MARCH
The
next step is to fight against expecting "zero wage up" response
from the boss at the end of March. Especially, we cannot let them destroy
the traditional wage system on JR Cargo Co.
This Labour Offensive is a matter of workers' very basic right to live,
right to form trade unions and focusing on what our society should be.
Japan's what they call "Self Defence Force" has been dispatched
to Iraq. Japan has recaptured its ferocious fangs. It has become "the
state to make war".
"Abolition of regular wage up, base wage down", "Put
90% of workers into unstable employment status", "Crush the
pension, disable health insurance and driving licence to those who have
not paid the annuity premium" - These words by the capitalists
tell us that it is a practical war on workers.
We, somehow, need to strike back against Koizumi (PM) - Okuda (head
of capitalists group) line. The Labour Offensive and the international
anti-war action on 20 March is the 1st step to change the power balance
between classes.
With all the achievement we have got so far, let's rise up for the last
round of the Offensive 2004!
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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