(Union News "Daily DORO CHIBA" No.6252,)(Japanes)

LET'S ACCOMPLISH SAFETY DRIVING STRUGGLE

On 10th March, we kicked off Safety Driving Struggle and sped-down 10km/hour from the max speed while driving. This is unavoidable fight to build up safety driving culture. Bosses in the JR East Company are blaming us and say "It's illegal action!" They have gathered managers, arranged a pair of them to stay at the drivers' cabs (cockpit), watch and threaten each of our union member drivers during work. Our Safety Driving Struggle is being fought resolutely despite such an abnormal pressure.

Picture: Two men on the left are managers watching and threatening the driver (Doro-Chiba union member) who is fighting for Go-Slow. Stop nasty watching!

Now we are demanding:

<1> to stop unreasonable diagram like 53-minute run of Narita Express between Tokyo - Narita, and 130 km/hour max speed driving
<2> to speed-down at dangerous points like Kitaura Bridge
<3> to inspect the safety of bolsterless light-weight coaches and to take urgent measure for safety such as decreasing driving speed and so on
<4> to strengthen the system for check and maintenance of tracks and coaches
<5> to stop outsourcing safety related business and to ensure the succession of necessary technique
<6> to change the control system which is dedicated to a commander and ignores recognition and decision of the workers on site
<7> to strengthen countermeasure against bad weather and to withdraw the deregulation which has been done recently

So far, JR East Co.has refused all our demands. They say that there is no safety problem. We had Amagasaki accident and Uetsu accident last year. We have had lots of broken tracks, and lost more than one hundred lives for just several months. But they insist that there is no safety problem! Unbelievable.

It is not just that.

We have found that there are coaches that have breaking malfunction but they ordered to keep using it without any inspection. One of their commanders gave a wrong direction for the go-slow district but they refused to admit it and did not correct the direction. And all of these unforgivable mistakes have repeatedly happened in just a month recently. Their ethical feeling on safety looks completely being collapsed.

When we had a talk to them in the collective bargaining we could tell that it is almost "taboo" among them to talk about anything which costs money and affects train timetable. Some of the managers who work near to rank and file can sense the danger but can say nothing. Similar accident like Amagasaki will happen any time like this. This is the reality of Japan Rail after the privatization.

On 10th March,

activists and members of Doro-Chiba Supporting Group were staying in Tokyo station all the day and confronted managers and cheered our union members who fought Safety Driving Struggle (pictures). The fight is difficult but encouraging as well. The action means our objection to the privatization and deregulation - criminal politics in all the industries.

Workers are treated just like animals everywhere. We cannot stay silent. Lots of workers all over Japan put an eye on us now. Our fight can become a spark burning all the fields. Let's accomplish what we've decided.

Safety Driving Struggle (Go-Slow) from 10 to 16 March
Fight Against Rationalization! Fight For Safety!
Now On Strike! (from 16 to 18 March)

DORO-CHIBA (DC): National Railway Motive Power Union of CHIBA
Email: doro-chiba@doro-chiba.org
Web: https://doro-chiba.org/

DORO-CHIBA