28 Apr 2009 -
Unions say No to Violence!

India
The Northern Railwaymen's Union, affiliated to the AIRF, organised a meeting on 27 April in Delhi to observe the Action Day, "Unions Say No to Violence". The meeting was attended by more than 400 unions members including 50 women. The Chairman of the Railway Board, General Manager of the Northern Railway and other senior officials of the railways, and office bearers of the union addressed the gathering. Mahendra Sharma represented the ITF at the event. It was proposed that management and the unions will launch a public awareness campaign on the issue. All 16 zonal railway unions and 60 divisions of AIRF are due to observe the Action Day today, 28 April. (Email report by Mahendra Sharma)

Nepal
A week long safety programme is being organised in Nepal by ITWAN. The safety week, which was inaugurated by the Minister of Labour and Transport Management, is being jointly organised by the joint safety committee which brings together trade unions, government and employers. This morning a silent rally was held. Activists from the union and national centre representatives participated in the event. After the rally, the Minster addressed the gathering and spoke on various safety issues and highlighted the problems facing Nepali workers with regards safety. Other activities planned as part of the safety week include awareness programmes, distribution of posters and a seminar.
(Email report by Bidur Karki)

Pakistan
The Railway Worker's Union (Open Line) in Pakistan are observing the Action Day all over the country. Demonstrations have been staged in front of the main divisional railway offices including Karachi, Sukkur, Quetta, Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshwar. At 09:00 this morning a demonstration was held at the local shed in Karachi. It was attended by the union leaders and around 2,000 members. Speeches were made emphasizing the need to protect workers against all kinds of violence and discrimination and the need for the operators to work with the unions to find ways to bring this about. The union also raised the issues that women face in the workplace. The Action Day was publicised in the national and local papers and adverts have been broadcast on the local and national TV channels explaining what the action day is about.
(Telephone report by Muhammad Nassem Rao)

Japan
Unions affiliated with JRU such as JR Hokkaido, East, Central, West and Freight have organised a nationwide campaign against violence and for safety on 28 April.  Each union prepared flyers, banners and vests for activists to wear, on which slogans were written. The slogans were about union challenges such as safety first, no to violence, against union busting and against worsening job security in the current economic crisis.  About 30 unionists including activists from the Central Japan Railway Workers' Union (JRCU) and JRU officers jointly distributed 800 flyers to commuters at the JR Shinagawa Station in Tokyo from 07:15. Yuji Iijima represented the ITF-JC at the activity.  The station was busy and many commuters stopped to read the flyers and the union banner with the messages. Union members are carrying out campaign activities in several areas across Japan. In the Tokyo vicinity, the East Japan Railway Workers' Union (JREU) is also distributing flyers. JRU plans to distribute more than 23,000 flyers on the Action Day. (Email report by Mizue Taoka)