Railway workers worldwide will mobilise on Tuesday 13 March to persuade passengers and politicians to put safety first on railways and back them as a leading form of sustainable and affordable transport.
The International Transport Federation is organising a railway action day to give people the opportunity to do this as part of an international effort.
They plan station cleanups, stoppages, demonstrations, leafleting of passengers, and station visits for schoolchildren. Information on what’s going on where, plus logos and posters, can be found at www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/SafetyFirst2007.cfm
“The railway's undoubted environmental and social benefits are undermined by privatisation, cost cutting and restructuring," said Mac Urata of the ITF.
"The safety day is our chance to back rail as an indispensable transport mode, and to back all those who want to keep and improve it.”
Some of the events planned for this year’s rail action day are at www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/campaigns-1588.cfm
Europe
European railway workers' unions including CGSP in Belgium and CGT Cheminots in France will meet at the Courtrai railway station in Belgium to call for measures to protect railway workers and passengers against violence.
The Railroad Engineer Trade Union of Croatia will aim their message at passengers and the Ministry of Transport with adverts on trains and locomotives.
In France, the Union Nationale des Syndicats Autonomes (UNSA Transports) says the introduction of railway competition in the country in March 2006 had undermined safety systems.
TRANSNET in Germany are also questioning the impact of restructuring and sell-offs on safety.
Following the derailment at Grayrigg, Cumbria on 23 February, the RMT in Great Britain is calling for a full public inquiry into the event. The union is asking branches and members to write to their MPs to support of an inquiry. Branches will also be asked to lobby MPs against the privatisation of the East London Line.
ASLEF in Great Britain will highlight its "SQUASH in the Cab" campaign to improve drivers' working conditions. Members of the union will visit Paddington and St Pancras stations in London to highlight campaign issues to the public.
In Serbia, the Trade Union of Railwaymen will hold a conference with members of the employers and inspectors on safety at work. The union is also planning a border meeting with colleagues from Hungary and Romania.
SEV in Switzerland will meet Italian colleagues from FILT-CGIL at the border. The two unions are worried about train staffing in tunnels of more than 1,000 metres, and certification of international train crews.
The Kenya Railway Workers’ Union is planning to organise clean-up exercises in the workshops, stations, offices and yards for its members at the Rift Valley Railways and Kenya Railways.
In India, AIRF’s affiliated unions are organising seminars, meetings, rallies and processions against the government’s anti-labour policies.
SRUT in Thailand will organise a culture ceremony at the State Railway of Thailand Headquarters. This will be followed by a demonstration from the headquarters to the Bangkok station. The union will also organise an exhibition on the history of the state railways, the process of privatisation, and about the daily tasks of railway workers.
In Japan, Kokuro's regional branches will produce their leaflets for passengers. JR-Rengo will be leafleting in major railway stations across Japan.
The CAW in Canada will hold the first of a planned series of meetings with the Transport Canada's rail safety directorate to raise issues on derailments, shipping dangerous commodities, train safety inspection issues and general rail safety.
La Fraternidad in Argentina will be calling for greater investment to maintain the infrastructure and rolling stock. There will also be meetings at the Argentina-Paraguay-Brazil border points and the Brazil-Argentina border point in Uruguay.
In Costa Rica, UNATROPYT will use the Action Day to raise awareness with the Executive Authority of the importance of railway transport on a worldwide level.
Information from the International Transport Workers Federation, ITF House, 49 - 60 Borough Road, London SE1 1DR. www.itfglobal.org
More info from: ITF's Sam Dawson. Tel: + 44 20 7940 9260. Email: dawson_sam at itf.org.uk