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Dear friends,
Now, DORO-CHIBA is preparing to stage 72 hour-strike for driving safety. It is due to start this Friday. Below is the detail what they are fighting for.
Hiroshi Kanba
japan2world@hotmail.com
http://stopwar.fc2web.com
Take back 6 min 40 sec shortening plan for SOBU Regular Line
Already Four Collisions! No More Accidents! Rise Up For STRIKE!
source
Japan’s Railway Company (JR Co.) Chiba district has a plan to shorten the time between Chiba and Ochanomizu stations on the SOBU Regular Line by up to 6 mins. 40 sec. This change will completely destroy safe driving conditions on this section of the railway.
SOBU Regular Line is the biggest artery in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Trains run at 2 1/2 min. intervals in the rush hour, morning and evening. Train drivers, in reality, have to drive watching the tail lights of the train in front.
A train requires 200 meters to stop when running of 60km/hour. Drivers are having to keep starring at the tail lights of train ahead and the traffic lights. It is an enormous strain. One misjudgement could trigger an accident.
The Chiba branch of JR CO., however, insist that: “We can do it because the direction of travel is different”, “You should be able to shorten the time by 1 minute because the type 209 and 231 trains are well able to both accelerate and brake. And as we have revised the boarding time at each station, 6 min 40 sec is possible”.
Whatever the direction is, the enormous pressure under which our members have to keep working is no different. They may be able to calculate and shorten time on paper quite easily, but for drivers with their hands on accelerator and brake, it makes a huge difference. We simply cannot agree to their decision to reduce the time between trains on the SOBU Line.
FIGHT FOR OPERATING SAFETY!
SOBU Rapid Train has had 4 accidents involving collision so far:
1964: Higashi-Nakano station
1972: Funabashi station
1980: Higashi-Nakano station
1988: Higashi-Nakano station
At the time of the Funabashi accident on 1972, driver TAKAISHI, union member of DORO-CHIBA, was arrested and charged. The CHIBA branch of our union [DORO], at that time, claimed that the government is the one to blame, because the accident was a result of their 10-year Regeneration plan of the state run railway. The direct cause was a black out of traffic lights compounded by an unrealistic time table which allowed only for 2 1/2 min. interval between trains. Our union fought and won “safer operating conditions”.
When our union gave instructions to members to come to court to support TAKAISHI, twice the number of people were there than had been instructed. Each member understood the fight as their own fight. It became the founding action of our union, DORO-CHIBA.
We won the re-instatement of TAKAISHI. DORO-CHIBA had managed to halt the government’s “rationalization” program and never allowed the company to blame individual drivers.
IT IS JR COMPANY THAT ARE TO BLAME FOR HIGASHI-NAKANO ACCIDENT!
One year after the privatization and break-up of the state run railway, we had a fatal accident on 5 December 1988. A train collided with another at Higashi-Nakano station; the driver and a number of passengers died.
The JR Company had changed the time table just before the accident, insisting upon a shortening of 3 min 40 sec time between Chiba and Mitaka stations. They even gave a specific order and said “don’t stop in front of traffic light, stop after passing them”. Because of this, even though the traffic lights showed red, the driver had to run through the signal after checking ATS (Automatic Train Stop system), and collided with the train ahead.
This accident was triggered, by huge “rationalization” and the neglect of operational safety due to privatization of the system. All of the responsibility for the accident should be placed upon the JR Company.
They ended up having to scrap the reduction in times and had to reinstate the original time table. After the fatal accident, they have not dared to shorten the time for the SOBU Regular Line since. Every year, on 5 December, workers (and even bosses!) have had commemorating events in order not to forget the Higashi-Nakano accident. But for the past couple of years, it has been just DORO-CHIBA who have talked about and tackled this problem.
FIGHT TOGETHER NOW!
The recent situation seems identical to Funabashi accident in 1972 and Higashi-Nakano accident in 1988.
Last year, the subcontracting of maintenance work triggered massive disruption on the Chuo Line. Even JR Co. received an improvement order by the National Land and Transport Department, they again tried to introduce the time reductions on SOBU Regular Line...
The only way to prevent an accident is to fight against JR’s “rationalization” program with our collective organisation. We cannot maintain safety of drivers and passengers under the JR Company and JR Union’s dual ruling (the union and the company working hand in glove).
Rank and file members of all the unions! It’s time to face the reality. We must oppose the companies’ attacks! We must respect each others picket lines!
Join us! Fight together with us all!
DORO-CHIBA (DC) : National Railway Motive Power Union of CHIBA
Email: doro-chiba@doro-chiba.org
Web: http://www.doro-chiba.org
English page at:
http://www.doro-chiba.org/english/english.htm
Read automatic English translation at:
click here
[Labour-J-info] generated by Hiroshi Kanba
japan2world@hotmail.com
http://stopwar.fc2web.com
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