Hat Yai rail dispute service resumption on track

The State Railway of Thailand yesterday evening fired six of its workers stationed at Hat Yai Junction for allegedly instigating a strike and disrupting train service, throwing into doubt the relaunch of normal services today.

The move followed a breakthrough in negotiations between protesting workers and management, which would have allowed all suspended southern trains to resume running today.

Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senneam expressed worry that the dismissal might prolong the problem, especially after it was announced after the agreement to break the stalemate was reached.

However, he would work further to end the dispute, as the Democrat Party and the prime minister assigned him to directly sort out the problem.

To punish any protesting worker, a committee should be set up to look into individual cases before a decision to penalise them is reached, he said.

Wirun Sakaekhum, head of the Hat Yaibased SRT labour unions, which staged the strike, said before he was sacked that the 10 union members marked for discharge would fight the decision in court because they did not violate SRT regulations.

The other five fired workers were Thawatchai Bunwisoot, Sorrawuth Phorthongkham, Saroj Janrak, Prachaniwat Buasri and Nitinai Chaiyaphum.

Thaworn had brokered the twohour talks at the Hat Yai Junction in Songkhla, where the worker walkout has paralysed operations since October 17.

Management agreed to six demands, including that all 11 defective locomotives pass basic safety tests, only local engineers operate local trains and SRT management promise in writing to take responsibility for any accidents.

Another one was that an independent committee be set up to inspect the safety features installed on locomotives.

A crucial condition insisted upon all along by the protesting workers - that they must not be punished for staging the strike - was not mentioned in the six conditions.

The suspended trains will do their normal daily trips and the entire operation will be fully restored by Saturday, Thaworn said before the six workers were expelled.

In the morning, Train No 463, one of many providing free service, had all eight cars packed with passengers on its way to Sungai Kolok.

Onboard were 10 police, double the regular guard, while 200 police and defence volunteers patrolled Hat Yai platforms to prevent a reoccurrence of confrontations between protesting workers and Bangkokbased replacement engineers that had happened on Tuesday.

Later in the afternoon, five longhaul trains bound for Bangkok - Nos 170, 172, 42, 38 and 36 - resumed service, but not every run.

Wirun said No 463's departure in the morning was made possible by a threepoint agreement between unionists and deputy SRT governor WirojTriamphongphan. These three conditions became part of the final agreement mediated by Thaworn.

Before the agreement was reached, 56 engineering cadets were readied to operate the suspended trains. Some of them served as crewmembers on No 463.

Democrat MP Akhom Engchuan had earlier hinted at organising local residents opposed to the suspension of train service to rally for an end to the strike.

"Initially I will course my efforts on the issue through parliamentary channels, otherwise it will look like we're interfering with the Transport Ministry, which is not under the supervision of the Democrat Party.

"And if that doesn't work, I will use negotiations with the SRT union. This process will not involve only MPs but also villagers. And I cannot guarantee that there won't be any violence involved by then," he said.

The strike "coincidentally moved along" with the activities of a certain political party, he said.

"I don't want to give the name, but I believe you media people are aware of what has happened," he said, without going into detail.

Thaworn said Akhom's statement would have no bearing on his agreement.

"All disputes and problems have been settled and sorted out," he said.

Local residents hailed the return of No 463 and the other five train trips, saying it was a good sign that their frequent travels would return to normal.

They complained about the high cost of going by bus and taxi and all the delays as well as the school closures caused by students missing classes.