"No to liberalisation, yes to safety," say railway workers

Melbourne signallers give Howard a safety message.

Organised by the ITF's European arm the European Transport Workers' Federation, the demonstration took place in Strasbourg, France, and involved activists from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland and the UK.

Unions fear that liberalised passenger services will see workers paying the price with job cuts, poor working conditions and pressure on safety.

In Italy the Federazione Italiana Trasporti - Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori organised a demonstration in Bologna. They were protesting against the handling of rail safety following a fatal train crash in January 2005, in which 6 workers and 11 passengers were killed.

In Australia, the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) delivered a petition to parliament demanding the release of the findings of an inquiry into a derailment that led to the death of an RTBU member.

Meanwhile a demonstration in the Philippines by affiliate Bagong Kapisanan Ng Mga Manggagawa Sa PNR highlighted safety issues in the wake of a major derailment in November last year, which killed six people and injured many.

Mass meetings and leafleting were organised in Japan, India, Ukraine and Argentina. Some affiliates in Africa combined the action day with International Women's Day, which took place on March 8. All in all, more than 50 unions in 36 countries took part in the event.

"This action day is an investment: by involving union activists at grassroots level, we are educating future union leaders on international trade unionism," commented Mac Urata, ITF Inland Transport Section Secretary.

Source: ITF