Declaration of Doro-Chiba Convention
The 40th Regular Convention of Doro-Chiba, held in the union’s Headquarters in Chiba
city, has unanimously resolved a new policy of our struggle, based on the recognition ofthe achievement of our victorious fight for the past year.
It has been confirmed among others that we have successfully blocked the plan of theJapan Railway (JR ) East Company of outsourcing yard work in Keiyo Line due to starton October 1st. Three months’ all-out struggle since the announcement of theoutsourcing plan forced the company to abandon it. It marks the highlight of ourstruggle for past one year.
Of course it doesn’t mean the Chiba Office of JR East Company has decisively given up
its outsourcing scheme. It will desperately endeavor to get a concrete result in
outsourcing even if the original plan is obliged to scale down. We are not at all satisfied
with our present achievement. We should by all means crush the outsourcing plan that
totally destroys rail safety as well as workers’ employment and future.
The March 11th East Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and subsequent nuclear plant accident
all at once took huge number of human lives, demolished daily activities and works andare still seriously threatening numerous people with high level radioactive exposure.
Farming and fishery are devastated and increasing number of workers is being thrownout of job on the street. The March 11th has fundamentally changed the whole situation.
It is to be noted that the disaster has become catastrophic by a series of neo-liberal
agenda, started by the Division and Privatization of National Railway and followed byprivatization of public infrastructure, financial burden of local administration, endless
reduction of number of public service workers etc., that all resulted in depriving local
communities of resisting power to natural disaster. The nuclear plant accident has
blatantly exposed among others the lie and fraud of the nuclear policy that had been
jointly carried out by the government, bureaucrats, business circle, bribed scholars,
mass media, the courts and system-friendly labor unions for their dirty and egoistic
interests and profits and for the pursuit of nuclear armament of Japan. Together with this,the true essence of the corrupt ruling system has also been revealed for public eyes.
What is happening is a crime committed by capital and the state. 30 years of
neo-liberalism has brought about a society, in which human beings can no longer live ahuman life.
In face of this situation, workers have begun to rise up for a struggle to live in a large
number. Their angry voices are prevailing in the whole society and expressing
themselves in fierce struggle against nuclear plants and unemployment. Indignation of
two million inhabitants of stricken Fukushima Prefecture is focused upon thegovernment that is still insisting that the whole situation is developing in a “safe” way,concealing all the facts about the catastrophe. On September 19th, 60,000 people took
to the street for a tremendous demonstration of boiling anger. The time faces a turning
point. Labor unions are now requested to regain its power.
The Noda administration and the business circle have openly proclaimed a policy to1

promote nuclear plant. In the name of “reconstruction”, they are intending to set up a“special zone” in the affected areas to carry out overall privatization and to halt theapplication of Labor Standard Actthere. Public service workers are faced with animminent threat of wage cut and all-out abolition of the whole 3,600,000 jobs to reducethem into irregular employment under the name of “reform of public service system” byan government executive order. Further a violent tax hike is being planned. Theirfundamental aim is to carry out ultimate neo-liberal agenda as an only way of“reconstruction”.
The crisis of capitalist system is continuously deepening. The global economic crisis
that has precipitated by the Lehman Shock three years ago has caused the full scalefinancial catastrophe in the US and EU countries as well as in Japan. The financial
collapse has driven capitalists to escalate attacks on workers. What is now really needed
is to revitalize militant labor unions.
The circumstance surrounding JR has been changing drastically since the agreement of
the “political settlement” of the struggle for reinstatement of unlawfully fired 1047
national railway workers. The so-called “political settlement” was planned to end theunsolved issues after the Division and Privatization of Japan National Railways in orderto enforce the policy to implement privatization on a broad scale that would bury ourwhole society.
However, we have started a new nationwide movement with a call: “Don’t put out thefire of national railway struggle”. We are militantly facing off against this neoliberalpolicy and thus our movement is gradually spreading all over the country. We shall not
obscure the fundamental issue of the Division and Privatization of Japan National
Railways.
The East Japan Railway Workers’ Union, the co-opted labor union, has the intention tofully accept the overall outsourcing plan toward the end of this fiscal year, saying that it
is to “settle at once both the new personnel and wage system and the subcontracting ofyard operations and repair works”. Our struggle against massive restructuring of yards
and depots and newly opening of Sakura Depot is at a decisive final stage. At the end of
this fiscal year, that is the end of next March, the massive layoff of contracted workers
who engage in the service to customers will be forced through. The collapse of safety isbecoming more serious.
In face of the accident that an express train derailed and caught fire in the tunnel last
May in Hokkaido, the president of JR Hokkaido recently committed suicide. It
represents the inherent contradiction in the division and privatization and that thescheme is totally on the verge of collapse.
Stop outsourcing and reinstate the fired workers!
We shall never accept the deceptive subcontracting practices that precipitate workers toprecarious employment!
No to massive restructuring of yards and deposits!
Stop revising the personnel and wage system!
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We fight for the establishment of rail safety!
Let’s take appropriate measures immediately to wage strikes!
Labor movements now stand at a crucial crossroads. But the time is now full of hopeand possibility. It is the time to revitalize labor movements and we can do it. We
dedicate all our strength focusing on the National Workers’ All-Out Rally on November
6.
Confront the historical situation that came after the Huge Earthquake and mobilize 10
thousand people to the November Rally!
All members of our union should stand up for the struggle to expand our organizationthat is essential for Doro-Chiba to continue fighting.
Here we announce our firm determination.

September 26, 2011

40th Regular Convention of Doro-Chiba3