ABSTRACT

The 9th June 1997 marked the first International Action Day that the International Transport Workers’ Federation’s (ITF)1 and its road transport workers’ affiliates organised under the slogan ‘Fatigue Kills’ with the principle objective ‘to put in place and enforce acceptable limitations on drivers’ duty time and rest periods’ (ITF – Road Transport Workers’ Section, 2000: 2). What started as a day of action for truck, bus and taxi workers in 13 countries has turned into a week of events in mid-October every year. Based on the reports from the affiliates to the ITF, unions in more than 100 countries have taken part in the Action Day campaign at least once. That is 90 per cent of the Section’s membership. It estimates that the campaign has mobilised more than one million people altogether.2 It has become

one of the most successful Action Day campaigns in the international workers movement. It prompted the ITF’s railway workers to campaign for ‘Safety First’ when their industry was going through massive changes under privatisation and deregulation. Since 2001, women transport workers have actively and collectively participated in the International Women’s Day, 8 March. Other action days have followed3 over the past decade and these efforts have created a new dimension in the ITF, which has always advocated workers’ activism. The main purpose of this paper is, therefore, to examine this new style of campaign by focusing on the Road Transport Workers’ Action Days.4 This document will identify how it was developed, what successes it has achieved and what shortcomings it still has. Several suggestions will be made as to how this campaign could progress in the future. Finally, the paper will identify a unique feature this campaign has attained in the history of the ITF by comparing it with several key industrial and political activism in the 113 years of the Federation.