30th October International day of action: ‘Dockworkers don’t work for war’

On Friday 30 October, dockworkers in 113 ports across 22 countries will take action against war in the largest coordinated port action ever held.

More than 25 unions on five continents will refuse to handle weapons shipments to Israel, in 24-hour strikes and other actions. The ports taking part handle 13.5% of global shipping and 63% of all container activity in the Mediterranean, including the transhipment hubs on which Israel’s supply chain depends.

In the ports striking for 24 hours, 52,000 containers will be halted and $2.8 billion worth of cargo will not move. This delay will cost $57,000,000, and that is before taking into account the cascading delays the following day, the general strike in Italy, and the greater number of ports striking for two hours.

There are 24-hour strikes in France, Italy, Greece and Türkiye, stoppages in Morocco, Cyprus and other countries, a general strike in Italy, and rallies outside port gates in dozens of cities. The first international day of action, on 6 February this year, involved 20 ports in seven countries and stopped five suspect ships. Friday’s action is more than five times larger and, for the first time, reaches outside Europe and the Mediterranean to India, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay and the US West Coast. It follows years of organising by the dockworkers’ unions, which have met in Athens, Genoa and Istanbul since February 2025 to build an international dockworkers’ movement.

This story was originally published by Hellenic Shipping News. Read the full story at Hellenic Shipping News →