ITF International Railway Workers’ Action Day Campaign March 14

safety first, not profit!

Global and national upheaval in Rail

Since 1989, a wave of restructuring, downsizing and privatisation has swept the rail industry in many parts of the industrialised world, and many developing countries. The landmark event was the privatisation of British Rail, which has been marked by a series of calamitous fatal accidents, dismal service quality, and now the financial collapse of RailTrack.

In Australia, the privatisation wave begun with the 1997 sale of Australian National has now led to the privatisation of all rail freight businesses except QR, and the sale of the rail passenger services in Victoria and interstate. National Competition Policy has forced third party access on QR and imposed deregulation everywhere.

Cost cutting has been a major feature of this period, and safety has been a major casualty. The worst disaster was the fatal Glenbrook crash in December 1999, and there have been accidents and incidents in every network. The most recent included the deaths of two drivers at a level crossing accident at Benalla, Victoria in October 2002; a horrific level crossing accident at Salisbury in northern Adelaide in October 2002, in which four children were killed and twenty-six injured; and the fatal Waterfall accident in January 2003, when seven people were killed and forty-one badly injured.

RTBU gains

During this period, the RTBU has campaigned to restore focus and resources to rail safety, and has won a significant commitment in NSW for legislated maximum working hours for train drivers and significant changes to the NSW Rail Safety Act.

International Action Day for Rail Safety

The RTBU National Council decided to strongly support the ITF world action day on March 14, 2003. Meetings of members will be held in different sections of the rail industry in each state to decide specific form of action and specific demands to be made on March 14.

Some ideas include:

• workplace meetings to highlight safety incidents and conduct safety audits;
• demands for proper staffing levels and no more cutting corners;
• demand for a nation-wide compatible train radio system;
• measures to increase community and railway worker safety at level crossings;
• upgrading of rail safety laws based on changes to the NSW Act.

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a federation of 621 transport trade unions in 137 countries, representing around 5 million workers.

The ITF was founded in 1896 in London by European seafarers' and dockers' union leaders who realized the need to organise internationally against strike breakers. Today the ITF organises workers in ships, ports, railways, road freight and passenger transport, inland waterways, fisheries, tourism and civil aviation.

The ITF represents transport workers at world level and promotes their interests through global campaigning and solidarity. It is dedicated to the advancement of independent and democratic trade unionism, and to the defence of fundamental human and trade union rights. It is opposed to any form of totalitarianism, aggression and discrimination.

The ITF is one of 10 Global Union Federations (former International Trade Secretariats) allied to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).