September 2009
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Appeal to endorse and join
in November 1 National Workers’ Rally September 2009 |
 Japanes
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(Union News "Daily DORO CHIBA" No.64xx,)(Japanes)
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Let’s build up a nationwide
network of militant labor unions!
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 Organizing Flyer for Nov. 1 Rally (pdf991KB) |
Solidarity Union of Japan Construction and Transport Workers
Kansai Area Branch
(Kan-Nama)
Metal and Machinery Workers’ Union in Osaka (Minato-Godo)
National Railway Motive Power Union of Chiba (Doro-Chiba)
Fighting brothers and sisters, workers across the nation!
As the whole world is now being swallowed up by the global economic
crisis. It is particularly important for labor unions to play a prominent
and leading role. The time has come that the united power of workers
should stand at the forefront of such an era.
For these 30 years, the neo-liberal agenda has exerted utmost destructive influence on every kind of social bonds and unity: employment and wage are drastically reduced, labor rights, social welfare system, education, medical care as well as local autonomy are dismantled or destroyed and agriculture is devastated. Livelihood of workers is completely ruined. Now the neo-liberal agenda has finally revealed its total failure. The consequences of this process are dreadful. A recent study by the OECD finds that 1.8 billion people, or 60% of the global labor force, are engaged in a working condition like slave labor without a formal labor contract and social security. Firing, wage cut and bankruptcy are attacking workers in a stormy rush, with unemployment rate growing rapidly, and 40% of the whole workers in Japan are living under the condition of their yearly income less than 3 million yen (31,900$). The crisis of capitalist system is giving impetus to the revision of constitution and the drive into war, whipping up a flood of reactionary nationalism and chauvinism. In these circumstances some politicians openly insist, “We can attack enemy bases abroad in conformity to the constitution”.
The long-lasting rule of the Liberal Democratic Party from the post war period is now falling down. The basis of this collapse lies in the crisis of the capitalist system, which has long been the fetters of the social development in every way and finally exhausted its historical vitality. At the turning point of our history, we need to think about the issue raised at the last November Rally by our Korean brother, who said, “We should drive defeatism out of our mind, overcome reformism and change ourselves through innovative labor movement that marches to socialism.”
The raging capital offensive is shaking up the whole workers of the world from a deep sleep and the tremendous thunders of strikes and demonstrations are rolling all over the world. Angry voices are bursting out from every production point against the domination of established labor unions that are overwhelmed by the violent development of the current situation, lost their vision and are tending more and more to degeneration and capitulation to capital. A new current of labor movement is now coming up.
Over the past year, we three of sponsoring unions have been building up our struggles to revitalize labor movement. Solidarity Union of Japan Construction and Transport Workers Kansai Area Branch (Kan-Nama) is bravely maintaining the historical achievements of the struggle based on industrial policy against brutal state power repression. Metal and Machinery Workers’ Union in Osaka (Minato-Godo) with its slogan of “Unity is Our Vital Energy”, is organizing workers of small and tiny companies in their district to fight against the attacks of bankruptcy and firing. The National Railways Motive Power Union of Chiba (Doro-Chiba) is persistently engaged in keeping its principled struggles: the struggle of the Japan National Railways (JNR) 1047 dismissed workers for reinstatement, the struggle against the rationalization and for railway safety, the organizing activities to expand its union members and the efforts to develop international solidarity.
Also we issued an appeal: “Let’s rise up from our workplaces and establish a nationwide network of joint centers of fighting labor unions and labor schools! Let’s launch a fresh move to revitalize militant labor movement from every workplace and district! Now is the time!” In response to this, our brothers and sisters throughout the country have begun their efforts to organize workers in their work places and expanded activities in their districts for this purpose. And their efforts are beginning to bear fruit and we see significant changes. What is now required for us is to find and develop common grounds while holding back differences and build up a nationwide network of militant labor unions. Workers must win back the unity in their hands and revitalize labor unions. It is for workers to realize their own power and ability and bring back their pride once again.
We three of sponsoring unions would like to raise three essential points
for our November Workers’ Rally.
Firstly, we need to feature the struggle of the Japan National Railways
(JNR) 1047 dismissed workers as axial agenda of the rally and gather
angry voices of all workers around it to confront privatization, union
busting, constitutional revision and war. Present adverse situation
of workers and labor movement was brought about by the Division and
Privatization of JNR and its subsequent offensives. Now the government
is planning another offensive to introduce the Wider Regional System
(Doshu-sei). According to this plan, 3.6 million public service workers
are to be dismissed as a whole and then they are to be subjected to
selective hiring as contracted out private employees. Under these circumstances,
the struggle of the JNR 1047 dismissed workers that is a battle over
the future and rights of all workers, has entered a crucial stage. We
should put forward the flag of the struggle of the JNR 1047 dismissed
workers in front of the labor movement, crushing the defeatist move
to drop the fundamental demand of “withdrawal of dismissal”
and to ask the government political settlement of “humane solution”.
Secondly, we should organize revolts in workplace to fight back dismissal, wage cut and irregularization of jobs, in other words, to overthrow the current situation, in which workers are forced to make unreasonable sacrifices as consequences of the capitalist crisis. A huge number of workers are shouting, “We must live!”. It is imperative for us to gather their angry voices into a movement to demand abolishment of the Worker Dispatching Law, to gain wide wage raise and higher standard of minimum wage. We propose for the Spring Labor Offensive 2010 the following slogan, “The situation needs general strike! Let’s revitalize militant labor movement!” to all the workers all over Japan.
Thirdly, we stress upon the task of promoting international solidarity of workers. Now is the time when united power of workers of all countries is desperately needed.
We three of sponsoring unions have come to a decision through intense discussions to call on all workers across the nation to join us in November Workers’ Rally to make a great leap forward for us all. Let’s gather all angry voices of working people to the rally and make a proclamation that united struggle of working class is the only power to change the society and to create a history.
We ask you all who share common aspiration with us to endorse and join in our November Workers’ Rally.
August 2009
November 1 National Workers’ Rally
Let’s build up a nationwide network of militant labor unions!
For international solidarity of working class to confront constitutional
revision, war, privatization and union busting!
Date: November 1, 2009, Sunday, at 12:00
Place: Hibiya Outdoor Music Hall, Tokyo
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