Global rail and road action week starts Monday

Organised by the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) the road and rail action week runs from 5 to 11 October and will pull together a number of its member unions.

The action week gives unions the opportunity to address the issues that matter to them and to choose how to highlight them – through everything from highway information stops via rallies and demonstrations to railway station cleanups – ensuring that local and national priorities are drawn to the attention of the travelling public, policy makers, employers and international organisations.

The event’s relevance is further strengthened through the inclusion of objective-led single days of action as part of the wider week. These are:

• Climate justice day on 5 October. A day dedicated to the fight against climate change and promoting how public transport can reduce emissions and help secure climate justice. For more details see www.5reasons4publictransport.org and hashtag #unions4climate
• Safe rates day on 6 October. A day to spread the lessons of the Safe Rates for truckers campaign in Australia. For more details see http://goo.gl/PTDB4b
• World Day for Decent Work. 7 October. A global action day organised by the ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation) and embraced by unions worldwide http://2015.wddw.org
• Rail day. 8 October. A day dedicated to rail and opposing the European Union's planned Fourth railway package. For more details see http://goo.gl/51SyiH

ITF inland transport sections secretary Mac Urata commented: “Next week rail and road workers unite in a worldwide action week for safe road and rail transport and decent jobs. And they’ll be doing it in a week of action that allows unions to feature the issues that really matter to them in the way that matters to everybody concerned.”

He concluded: “From Monday, unions will join together for decent, safe, ecological, public- and worker-friendly roads and railways, all under the slogan ‘Transport workers fighting back! Organising globally!’”

The countries where the action week will be taking place include: Australia, Chile, India, Japan, Germany, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Nigeria, Norway, Russia, Spain, South Korea and Turkey.

For more about the Action week – including daily updates and photos – visit –  http://goo.gl/aP5Zv6, and follow it on Twitter under the hashtag #ITFactionweek.