The ITF’s road and railways action week runs from 5-11 October, under the slogan ‘Transport workers fighting back! Organising globally!’. Unions will organise activities to highlight the important issues affecting workers and to demonstrate the value of belonging to a union. These will range from organising highway information stops, rallies and demonstrations to railway station clean-ups.
Four specific action days will also take place during the week. They will focus on climate justice (5 October), to promote how public transport can reduce emissions (follow events on Twitter under hashtag #unions4climate); safe rates (6 October), to spread the lessons of the safe rates for truckers campaign in Australia; decent work (7 October, the world day for decent work organised by the ITUC – International Trade Union Confederation); and rail (8 October), including opposition to the European Union's planned fourth railway package.
Mac Urata, ITF inland transport section secretary, commented: “This is an important opportunity for road and railways unions and workers to speak out with a united, global voice about their major concerns, and I urge all those affiliates to take part.
“Workers and passengers in both industries face similar threats from deregulation, privatisation and liberalisation. Let’s join together next week to defend these vital services and the jobs, working conditions and rights of those who work in them.”
The action week will take place in many countries, including Australia, Chile, India, Japan, Germany, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Nigeria, Norway, Russia, Spain, South Korea and Turkey.
Please send information and photos of your actions to inlandtransport@itf.org.uk.
Keep up-to-date with action week activities and follow the week on Twitter under hashtag #ITFactionweek.
