Global dockers strike against war and arms transit to Palestine

Dockers at 111 ports across 22 countries and territories will down tools on Friday as part of a coordinated anti-war strike.

So far, more than 25 dockers’ unions, spanning from Marseille to Mumbai, Hamburg to Montevideo, and Melbourne to Oakland, have announced their participation in the walkout.

Just days ago, the figure stood at approximately 100 ports in 17 countries, a tally that excluded dozens of unions from other sectors that had pledged their support.

The striking workers’ primary demand is that no weapons or military cargo pass through their ports.

In France, the main dockers’ union states that 95% of the country’s ports will be shut down.

Twenty-four-hour strikes will take place in Italy, India, Greece, and Türkiye, while work stoppages of up to two hours are scheduled in Morocco and Cyprus, alongside rallies planned in port cities across the globe.

In Greece, metalworkers, ship repair workers, and youth are joining the dockers, while in the US, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10 is striking in Oakland and San Francisco.

The unions are taking the Istanbul Declaration, signed in May, as their basis, with each determining its own form of participation.

They are also fighting for their own jobs, resisting layoffs driven by automation, and campaigning for contracts, pay increases, shorter working hours, and job security.

The unions draw attention to escalating wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, pointing to the risk of a wider, general war.

They also condemn new crimes committed by Israel in Hebron, carried out with the support of the US, NATO, and the EU. According to the UN, Israel’s blockade of the city has entered its sixth day, and more than 3,000 Palestinians have been displaced. Palestinian trade unions are backing Friday’s action.

In Italy, the struggle has spilled beyond the docks. The USB union has called a nationwide general strike.

Last night, the Italian government ordered transport workers to return to work. The USB declared that it will not comply with the order, choosing to risk heavy penalties instead.

Calling on workers and young people everywhere to show solidarity with dockers, the unions declared: “Ports should be for peace and for peoples, not launch pads for war.”