Dear friends all over the world,
Doro-Chiba has been consistently fighting against Division and Privatization of Japan National Railways for 26 years demanding the withdrawal of dismissals of railway workers. Now the unrelenting struggle of Doro-Chiba has driven the government and JR capital to the corner one step further. On September 25, the Tokyo High Court could not overturn the latest lower court’s decision, which for the first time ruled that the discriminatory dismissal of Doro-Chiba members because of their union affiliation at the time of the privatization as an unfair labor practice. However, the Court denied reinstatement using every sophistry and instead fraudulently offered a solatium. No kidding! Anger of workers has been fueled further more.
The Abe administration has openly put tremendous pressures on the Tokyo High Court to completely deny the lower court’s decision on the issue of unfair labor practice. But as a result of nearly 45 thousand signatures that we have gathered during this time, we have succeeded to repel the government’s outrageous attempt.
Now the case will be brought to the Supreme Court. Doro-Chiba has decided to launch fresh full-scale efforts to win the victory for the withdrawal of dismissals in line with the struggle to stop outsourcing of inspection and repair works. On September 26, we held the meeting of Nationwide Movement of National Railway Struggle and made a decision to start a new signature campaign. (Please find attached the second petition form to the Supreme Court.)
“To dismiss all employees of a company under the disguise of bankruptcy and to re-employ only a part of the previous employees, excluding union activists in a discriminating way”
This method of union busting was performed on a largest scale under the decision and direction of the state power in carrying out the division and privatization of Japan National Railways (in 1987).
As a result of the abolishment of National Railways and the establishment of new private companies, Japan Railway Companies (JRs), the members of Doro (today’s Japan Confederation of Railway Workers’ Union) and some unions that approved the privatization, were re-employed. On the other side, a lot of members of Doro-Chiba and Kokuro (National Railway Workers’ Union) who had opposed the privatization were refused to be re-employed in the new private companies.
The whole number of railway employees was violently reduced from about 400,000 under the National Railways to about 200,000 under the JRs.
The Division and Privatization of National Railways triggered privatization, outsourcing and casualization, which have been rampant all over the society.
This the reason why Doro-Chiba has fought for 26 years, insisting we should not allow such unjust dismissal. Eventually, we have succeeded in revealing the crime of the capital and state, and have reached the point that we have driven them to the edge of the ring.
Rail accidents are happening all too frequently now all over Japan. It was disclosed by the recent derailment accident in Hokkaido that abnormalities in rail were left unrecovered in 270 places. As a result of cutback, outsourcing and delivering to subsidiaries, the transport business has been split into numerous sections. Consequently rail safety has completely been collapsed without reliable inspection and repair work. Terrible disaster could happen at every moment everywhere. In spite of these alarming developments on rail, the Abe administration is outrageously driving its policy to further liberalize dismissal of workers, to change current employment system for the reduction of the whole working population into irregular employment. Together with intensified union busting, restart of nuclear plants, constitutional revision and desperate drive for war are on their agenda. Doro-Chiba is confronting these assaults by Abe administration on working class and is determined to overthrow it at the forefront of the struggle.
On November 3, we will hold National Workers’ All-out Rally in Tokyo with the slogan, “Let’s organize militant labor unions in all work places all over Japan”.
We ask you, fighting friends and colleagues of the whole world, to join us in the rally. Let’s fight together!
September 30, 2013
International Labor Solidarity Committee of Doro-Chiba