Put rail talks back on track

The railway workers of Thailand and their union are dangerously close to alienating the country and threatening the survival of this vital utility. After an unannounced and highly disruptive wildcat strike just over a month ago, the leaders of the State Railway of Thailand have taken an unhelpfully stubborn stance in talks with the SRT board. No one doubts that the SRT executives are also being hard-nosed in what should be accommodating discussions and negotiations. But the union has taken a recalcitrant and outdated stance against any plan to improve the SRT. Union leaders and members must move with the times, not simply oppose every plan put forward by the SRT and the government.

The bone of contention between railway management and workers is the Airport Link. This two-service train is due to run between the Makkasan area of central Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi Airport. It was due to begin tests on Aug 12, but the union strike already has pushed that plan back until Dec 5. The SRT executives see the Airport Link as a modern rail service, carrying passengers and their baggage from a new downtown terminal to the new airport. The public has much the same vision, because modern-day travellers expect transportation of an international standard.

The workers' representatives, who have been allowed to sit with the SRT board since their unpopular strike, oppose virtually every detail of the planned Airport Link. Union leader Sawit Kaewwan doesn't want a new SRT subsidiary to manage the airport train. He doesn't want any new workers to be hired to staff the Airport Link. While management, the government and much of the public who have studied the matter hope that the new airport service can revitalise and help to reform the SRT, the union has insisted that there should be no reform - or at least none that has so far been put on paper.

In truth, the Airport Link appears to be the whipping boy of a strong campaign by the union to try to prevent reform of any kind. Mr Sawit, for many months, has insisted loudly and publicly that the SRT has a secret plan to privatise the state railway. SRT Governor Yutthana Thapcharoen has just as regularly denied such a plan. Indeed, given the massive losses and government subsidies the SRT devours every year, it is difficult to take seriously the union charges of a plot to privatise the SRT. Even under strong reform, it will be a long time before the railway can even forecast a profit, let alone make one.

For the moment, the SRT is clearly a public utility, and a highly necessary one to the economy and comfort of the country and its citizens. Few begrudge the billions that have gone into keeping the SRT running. The railway allows tens of thousands to travel long distances at affordable fares, and provides farmers and industry alike to bring products to market. The visionary 19th century project of King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn the Great continues to provide a service to the country that never could be equalled by any other system.

This is why the public was angered last month when the railway workers downed tools and walked off the job nationwide without notice, leaving dozens of trains and tens of thousands of passengers stranded.

It is pertinent to ask whether the union truly wants to better the lot of its members. Instead of stubborn opposition, the union owes it to workers and the nation to work with the SRT to improve the service of the national railway.The alternative is to allow the SRT to deteriorate so badly that no one can benefit.