JRU Approved Agendas to fight for “Denuclearization” and To Work on Helping Early Recovery from the 3.11 Devastation

June 5-6 , 2011

 

The JRU held its 27th Annual Congress on 5-6 June in Tokyo. In the Congress the JRU declared its agenda to pursue “Denuclearization” and approved the immediate action plan to overcome the difficult situations caused by the 3.11 disaster.

Three months have passed since the mega-quake, tsunami and nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant hit Japan. In the wide disaster-hit area people still continue their efforts to locate the bodies and to remove rubble and sludge. Because of too serious damage caused by the disaster and subsequent nuclear crisis, there are no promising signs of recovery as yet.

In this difficult situation, however, our members have wrestled with the challenges of helping recovery till today as the public transport workers. The railways have resumed partial operation.

During the Congress, members held active discussions on the matters such as our relief efforts, the companies’ outrageous business attitude to blatantly slight safety by unilaterally ripping up union-management relations though in time of disaster, fears of spreading radio-active contamination from the nuclear plant, determination to fight for denuclearization and the fight against oppression of the union, and so on.

Based on the opinions of the members, the JRU reached a unanimous decision on our agendas centering on the following challenges.
1, To fight back against false accusation and attempts to crush unions, and win acquittal of JRU7 and their reinstatement.
2, To build up solidarity with fellow workers in order to break with nuclear power generation, to stop amendment of Article 9 of the Constitution, to take a stand against neoliberal policies and create peace and people-friendly societies.
3, To defend life and safety without allowing the management who places priority on operation service and profit.
4, To promote the movement by all members together in their worksite.

On the next day of the Congress, the four JRU delegates started for Sweden to attend the ITF Road Transport Workers’ Section meeting. In the meeting, they delivered the live voices of our members who, seized with fear of exposure to radioactivity, have been engaged in transporting evacuees in Fukushima prefecture and are still living there in the terrible radiation contamination. The JRU submitted two motions to the meeting; “Motion to Secure Safety and Employment of Transport Workers in Times of Disasters” and “Motion: The Protection of Trade Union Rights for Transport Workers”, which were unanimously adopted.

We have got warm encouraging messages of standing together from domestic and foreign workers. We will bear in mind the precious solidarity among workers, and will advance our concrete action together with our fellow workers in the worksite in order to implement our policy decided in the Congress.

(All officers remained in their post including President and General Secretary.)