A MAJOR conference of European railway trade unionists
aimed at developing strategies to resist and reverse the tide of EU-driven rail
privatisation and ‘liberalisation’ is to be hosted in London on Tuesday by
Britain ‘s biggest rail union.
RMT general
secretary Bob Crow, European Transport Workers’ Federation general secretary
Eduardo Chagas, Kelvin Hopkins MP and John Hendy QC will be among the keynote
speakers at the event, which will be attended by trade unionists from 15
European countries.
Frank Keoghan
from the People’s Movement, which campaigned for a No vote in last week’s Irish
referendum, will also now address the conference on the campaign’s historic
victory, and the threat posed by the EU Constitution to workers’ rights.
The conference
will analyse the origins of rail liberalisation and privatisation, including EU
directives, the various EU rail ‘packages’ and policies implemented by national
states, will look at their impact on the industry and its workforce and will
explore how European rail unions can work together to reverse them.
It will also look
at the serious implications for workers’ rights posed by the recent Viking and
Laval rulings by the European Court of Justice.
"The timing
of this conference couldn’t be better, coming in the wake of the stunning
defeat by the Irish people of attempts to impose an undemocratic Constitution
that would have accelerated privatisation throughout the EU," Bob Crow
said today.
"The defeat
of that Constitution should be welcomed by railway workers already living with
the consequences of privatisation and fragmentation, and by all those living
under its long shadow.
"The Irish
referendum result will give fresh heart and impetus to our campaign, because
the Irish people have shown that the agenda of those who would turn Europe’s
railways into a herd of cash cows can be defeated.
"It is deeply
disturbing that the British government, which in opposition pledged to reverse
the privatisation and resulting fragmentation of Britain’s railways, is now
acting as a missionary for it among other EU countries," Bob Crow said.
For further
information and for media credentials to attend the conference (space limited),
please contact Derek Kotz on 020 7529 8803 or 07939 595 092
The conference for
European rail trade unionists on campaigning against rail privatisation and
liberalisation in Europe will be held from 10:00 to 17:00 on Tuesday June 17,
at the London headquarters of the International Transport Workers’ Federation,
49-60 Borough Road, London, SE1 1DR
The
event will be attended by railway trade unionists from Spain , Turkey , France
, Denmark , Finland , Sweden , Germany , Belgium , Norway , Hungary , Romania ,
Austria , Latvia , Bulgaria and Britain .
