On 7 March 2005 rail workers around the world will celebrate the sixth international rail action day, an International Transport Workers’s Federation (ITF) event that has mobilized more than a quarter of a million railway workers in 65 countries each year since the campaign - for safe railways with a global future - began in 2000.
Mac Urata, Secretary of the ITF’s Railways Section, explained: “Railway unions have faced significant challenges to safety standards and public services as many economies withdraw from rail services and transfer development capital into roads. The separation of track and train operations, plus an increase in the use of contractors for maintenance, has increased the possibility of accidents, and rail unions have been required to put more effort into protecting their members and the travelling public.”
