Let’s set up a nation-wide network of militant labor unions!

Withdraw the dismissal of 1047 national railway workers!

Organize a “Nation-wide Movement of National Railway Struggle” in workplaces and communities!

For International Solidarity against Constitutional Revision, War, Privatization and Union Busting!

Call for endorsement to, and participation to,

November 7 National Workers’ All-Out Rally

Kan-Nama (Solidarity Union of Japan Construction and Transport Workers Kansai Area Branch)

Minato-Godo (Metal and machinery Workers’ Union in Osaka)

Doro-Chiba (National railway Motive Power Union of Chiba)

“Nation-wide Movement of National Railway Struggle”

August, 2010

November Workers’ Rally for the establishment of a nation-wide network of militant labor union will be the 13^th this year. Meanwhile, in face of the grave situation brought about by the “political settlement” of the struggle of 1047 dismissed national railway workers, a new movement was started by participants of June 13 rally in Tokyo with a declared determination: “Don’t put out the fire of the national railway struggle. Let’s set up a new nation-wide movement against the Division and Privatization of National Railway and for the withdrawal of the dismissal of 1047 national railway workers with an aim of creating a new labor movement to confront the neo-liberal offensive”.

We wish we would combine these two movements strongly and make November Workers’ Rally this year a starting point for the revival of Japanese labor movement in a grave crisis.

The Division and Privatization of National Railway was the major offensive to destroy labor movement after World War II. It triggered a torrent of privatization and deregulation and more than 10 million workers were driven into irregular employment or working poor as a result. The planned “course” of the ruling class was “to crush Kokuro (National Railway Workers’ Union) and compel Sohyo (General Council of Trade Unions of Japan) and Socialist Party to disband” and then “to put a respectable constitution (without “peace article”) in the right place”.

The struggle of national railway workers who has been fighting for almost 30 years against this offensive has constituted a decisive counter force against the neo-liberalism and has an epoch-making significance.

The neo-liberal offensive raged over the whole world in these 30 years, bringing about disaster to working people, destroying job, wage, labor rights, social security system, education, medical care, local autonomy and agriculture. The result was the reality, in which “1800 million people, corresponding to 60% of total working population of the world, are presently obliged to work under the slavery conditions without ordinary labor contract or social security” (OECD document). Notwithstanding, Democrat-government led by Kan is intent to launch an over-all assault on public service workers: it is an ultimate privatization and union busting offensive to dismiss 3.6 million public service workers once and then selectively and discriminately re-employ a part of them in newly privatized companies. In line with this, attempts are now under way to strengthen Japan-US Security System, to revise the constitution and to accelerate war drive, accompanied by flaming up imperialist nationalism and chauvinism. The reactionary move to terminate national railway struggle has its political background of this new wave of offensive.

While the global economic crisis is raging over the whole world, working class faces more and more ferocious attacks: increasing unemployment, spreading poverty and the burden of the fiscal bankruptcy as an outcome of huge amount of fiscal expenditure. Headed by Greek workers, working people all over the world are woken up from a long period of slumber by brutal capitalist attacks and are rising up for stormy strikes and demonstrations everywhere. A new trend of militant labor movement is going to be born as angry voices of rank and file workers are bursting out against the established labor union leadership that has succumbed to the severe situation, has lost perspective and degenerated more and more, ending up in capitulation to capital and the state power. In Japan, in Okinawa, for example, angry voices are exploding, demanding the withdrawal of military bases. Labor union is now asked what role it should play in this decisive moment.

The history now stands at a crossroads. What is most urgent is to organize struggle in workplace. We must develop these powers of workplace struggles into a nation-wide network, while expanding common points among coordinating forces and reserving difference of positions. Now is the time for united power of worker to come to the forefront of the struggle before the whole society. Only the united struggle of workers can change the society and make history. Let take back labor unity and revive labor union. Be aware of your own power and possibilities and be proud of being a member of working class!

　

We propose three vital agendas for November Rally 2010: first, to organize a nation-wide movement of national railway workers in every workplace and region across Japan as a step for stronger labor right, better future and rehabilitation of labor movement; second, to organize workplace struggle, overcoming the division between regularly and irregularly employed workers, public and private industry workers while the impasse of capitalism is forcing the ruling class to all-out offensive on working class, such as dismissal, wage-cut, outsourcing, deregularization on the one hand and drive for constitutional revision and war on the other. We must gather all angry voices against privatization, union busting, Workers’ Dispatch Law, irregular employment, constitutional revision, Japan-US Security Alliance and other political reactionary drives; thirdly, to develop international solidarity of working class further. No other time workers’ solidarity of all countries is more deadly needed as today.

We call on all who share same aspiration to endorse to, and to participate in November 7 National Workers’ All-Out Rally.