Sohpon requests more rail staff

       The Transport Ministry is seeking cabinet approval to recruit more rail staff to ease the shortage caused by drivers who have walked off the job.
       Transport Minister Sohpon Zarum yesterday said his ministry would ask the cabinet today to consider relaxing a July 28 cabinet resolution imposing a headcount freeze on the number of state employees.
       If approved, the proposal would pave the way for the recruitment of 171 new staff to stand in for train drivers who are out on strike, disrupting train services and stranding thousands of passengers, particularly in the South.
       Mr Sohpon has signed an order appointing four committees to look into the problems besetting the State Railway of Thailand.
       The committees will look into problems involving the SRT's management structure, scrutinise its financial standing, compile information on its assets and liabilities, and examine its regulations and practices.
       The findings will be submitted to the panel of economic ministers and the government for use as a basis for a major overhaul of the railways. The findings are expected in three weeks.
       Mr Sohpon said he was ready to talk with the SRT union to solve the problems and would do all he could to ensure train services returned to normal within three days.
       SRT governor Yutthana Thapcharoen said 241 rail staff requested leave yesterday. About 30 south-bound trains were held up.
       The strike has cost the SRT 16.5 million baht over the past three days.
       This includes 10.5 million baht in passenger fares and 6 million baht from lost freight rates.
       Mr Yutthana said new staff standing in for train drivers who have walked off the job would include mechanics who have received training from the railway technical school.
       Mechanics with at least seven years of work experience would also be promoted to train drivers, said the SRT governor.
       Mr Sohpon and the SRT governor yesterday travelled to Songkhla to in-spect the repair and maintenance of trains at Hat Yai railway station. They were heckled by more than 100 union members and Mr Sohpon had to cancel a planned meeting with local SRT executives.
       Land Transport Department director-general Chairat Sa-nguanchue,who sits on the SRT board, said the board would consider appointing a panel to investigate if the leave taken by railway staff was politically motivated. The panel would comprise representatives from the Office of the Attorney-General, Mr Chairat said.
       Soythip Traisuthi, director-general of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning and an SRT board member, said about 28 train drivers who retired from service on Sept 30 had offered to fill in for drivers out on strike.
       Mrs Soythip said SRT board chairman Thawalrat Ornsira would sign an order allowing the former staff to return to work temporarily, effective today.
       Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has insisted that SRT staff who have caused damage by going on strike must be held responsible for their actions.
       He was speaking after reports that the rail union had demanded railway workers who had stopped work be spared punishment.
       "We cannot yield to the demands,"the prime minister said.
       "If they are in the wrong, they must be held responsible. Workers and the union cannot leave work just on a whim."
       In Hat Yai yesterday, south-bound trains were out of action for a fourth day. All local trains were halted while a few long-haul trains from Bangkok to the South were running but only as far as Surat Thani station.
       The Hat Yai railway union yesterday insisted that trains would remain out of action until SRT executives came up with clear measures to repair and maintain locomotives.
       Wirat Chantharat, chief of the SRT's legal investigation division, yesterday filed a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division seeking legal action against railway staff who stop work and affect passengers.
       Mr Wirat said the work stoppage had caused damage estimated at about 15 million baht a day. He said companies that use rail freight services would also sue for damages.
       STRIKING A BLOW AGAINST UNIONISTS Actions
       % of respondents Disagree Agree Unsure 73.03 12.36 14.61 50.54 32.97 16.49 Most people disagree with the State Railway of Thailand labour union's move to hold train stoppages, a Suan Dusit poll shows.The pollsters surveyed 1,064 people in Bangkok and nearby provinces on Oct 18 and 19. * To strike following internal conflict * Union claims of unsafe trains * Believe there is political interference 25.41 32.72 41.87 POST graphics