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الدكتورة / ليتا تشانج

Rail union members agree to end strike

Railway union members last night agreed to end their strike, clearing the way for the resumption of train services after the stoppage paralysed the rail network across the country.

State Railway of Thailand chairman Siva Saengmanee came out from five-hour talks with the union saying the SRT agreed to look into all demands put forward by the union.

Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um witnessed the signing of the agreement between SRT board members and union leader Riengsak Khaengkhan to assure staff the promise would be kept and that members who joined a mass ''sick leave'' would not be punished.

The union's demands involved Central Inter Pattana Plc's lease of a prime plot on Phahon Yothin road, part of the Buri Ram station compound allegedly encroached on by a politician, the corruption-plagued Airport Rail Link project, and the privatisation of its cargo service under the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement.

The union accused the SRT management of trying to favour Central Inter Pattana in the lease deal.

The railway agency agreed to look into all cases and guarantee union members that staff will be employed on the cargo services to be run by private operators. It will consult closely with the union on all matters to end its doubts, said Mr Siva.

The protest by the SRT union starting late Tuesday night caused chaos on the national railway network, as hundreds of train drivers and engineers took ''sick leave'' simultaneously to call for improvements and block attempts to privatise the loss-ridden agency.

According to the SRT chairman, 200 train drivers and 194 train engineers took sick leave for two days yesterday. The SRT has 1,112 train drivers and 1,108 train engineers.

The result was that 20,000 passengers and many freight trains were left stranded at main stations or mid-way through their journeys.

Transport authorities hurriedly arranged for passenger buses to serve passengers but nothing was done for cargo trains, including those carrying petroleum products and cement.

The stoppage began on Tuesday at stations such as Thung Song junction in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Hat Yai station in Songkhla before expanding nationwide yesterday.

All southern trains came to a halt at stations in the region. Northern trains were blocked at Nakhon Sawan station while locomotives were left on the lines to block the northeastern tracks at Kaeng Khoi station in Saraburi and Nakhon Ratchasima station.

Trains from the East to Bangkok stayed running almost all day long yesterday but eastern bound services eventually stopped as union members at Hua Lamphong in Bangkok blocked return trips to the East yesterday evening.

About 100 union members gathered at Hua Lamphong to force all services to a halt, taking turns to air their complaints.

Union representatives highlighted the privatisation grievance in their rallies at major train stations nationwide.

Supichet Suwannachatri, head of the union's southern branch, said the government was pushing for amendments to the Thai Railway Act of 1951 and termination of the Railway Track and Highway Act of 1921 to allow the private sector to operate trains to comply with the Thai-Japanese free trade pact that takes effect today.

Representatives of the labour union complained that it would make the SRT a service provider in the business and the state was pushing for the change without consulting SRT employees.

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دكتورة/ ليتا تشانج

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