Strike Report No.2
16 March 2004

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(Union News "Daily DORO CHIBA" No.5844,)(Japanes)

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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