Dockworkers Strike at 113 Ports in 22 Countries Over Arms Shipments, Wages and War

Dockworkers in Europe and beyond are staging strikes today, Oct. 30, in a coordinated campaign against the use of civilian ports for arms shipments. Unions also want better pay and working conditions.

More than 25 unions covering 113 ports in 22 countries have signed on, according to Italy's USB union, which helped organize the day. The campaign goes by the slogan "Dockworkers do not work for war."

What the unions want

The action was first called by dockworker unions in France, Italy, Greece, Spain's Basque Country, Turkey and Morocco. Their joint statement says: "Ports must not be used for the transport of weapons, ammunition, military equipment and troops."

The campaign traces to the Istanbul Declaration, published in May 2026 by dockworker unions from more than 35 European countries. It says port facilities must not become "a link in the chain" of wars.

Gaza features prominently. Organizers' main demand, as relayed by Al Jazeera, is "an immediate end to the genocide of the Palestinian people and all imperialist wars." Greek union leader Markos Bekris of ENEDEP put the strategy this way: "Weapons need transport, infrastructure, and workers' hands to reach their destination. That is where our power lies."

The demands are not only about war. The Greek and French actions also cite wages, job security, safety and the budget.

Country by country

France is the biggest test. Tony Hautbois, secretary-general of the CGT Ports and Docks union, said French ports will be "95 percent shut down." The union says it represents 95% of dockworkers. Jean-Frédéric Laurent, director-general of the French Ports Association, said most terminals will not operate for 24 hours.

About 14,000 port workers, including 7,500 dockworkers, are covered by the strike call. French ports handled 330 million tonnes of goods in 2025.

The CGT is also protesting measures in the French government's draft budget, which it says "destroy our solidarity systems." It plans to join a nationwide strike on Nov. 5.

Italy has USB's 24-hour general strike, with demonstrations planned in more than 40 cities. Port actions are slated for Genoa, Trieste, Livorno and Gioia Tauro. USB says the general strike also targets living costs, low wages and military spending.

A spokesman for the Genoa port said he expects only limited impact.

Greece has a three-hour stoppage at Piraeus, from 10:00 to 13:00 local time. Other unions are staging 24-hour strikes. A separate seafarers' strike over pay, conditions and safety has already left ferries docked at several ports.

Organizers also point to about a dozen Indian ports. The Water Transport Workers Federation of India is backing the action. The Global Sumud Flotilla says it will carry out "coordinated, strategic actions on the water."

In the U.S., ILWU Local 10 is mobilizing members in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to Fox News Digital.

How big is the disruption?

Organizers say the action could affect more than 40% of Mediterranean cargo and more than $2 billion in freight. Those are estimates of potential disruption, not confirmed losses.

The analysts quoted expect less. Marcus Baker, global head of marine, cargo and logistics at insurance broker Marsh, said a 24-hour strike is unlikely to cause material disruption to global trade flows. He said it could hit perishable and time-sensitive shipments.

Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, said the strike could worsen congestion at ports like Genoa, where ships already wait one to two days for a berth.

Supply-chain firm C.H. Robinson told clients that delays "may occur at participating ports," with severity varying by port, terminal and local participation.

Participation is also uneven. Some unions are staging full-day stoppages, while others are planning short walkouts or symbolic demonstrations. In Germany, ver.di is listed among participating unions. Hamburg-based dockworker Mohammed al-Attar, who left Gaza in 2015, accused the union of "incomprehensible silence" on Gaza.

The challenge to the framing

Fox News Digital, in an investigation by senior investigations editor Asra Nomani, describes the day differently. It says 106 organizations in a "red-green" alliance of communist, socialist and pro-Palestinian groups meticulously organized the mobilization, rather than it being a spontaneous eruption of outrage.

Fox says the network has spent the past week coordinating strikes and publicity under the "No Harbour for Genocide" banner. It adds that the same network plans a third round of protests in France on Saturday. Fox notes that the campaign website was registered anonymously in March 2025.

The unions have described their own planning in public. They held meetings in Athens and Genoa, and the Istanbul Declaration is a published document. The campaign's coordination is open. Whether the alliance Fox describes extends beyond the unions is its claim alone.

The legal gap

The action targets a real gap. Under the Arms Trade Treaty, which has 116 state parties, exporting governments must assess whether licensed transfers risk violating humanitarian law. The treaty places no obligation on port operators or shippers.

Europe was the world's biggest arms importer from 2021 to 2025, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. "From planes to tanks, guns to bullets, explosives to ammunition, uniforms to boots, our ports have become replenishing and forwarding bases for war and genocide," the unions said at a press conference.

Licensed cargo is a government decision. Workers who refuse it are overriding their own government's licensing, and employers and port authorities are the ones who absorb the cost.

The next measurable data point is the Nov. 5 French nationwide strike, which the CGT port union has said it will join. Whether Friday's action leaves lasting delays at Genoa and Piraeus will show how much leverage the unions actually have.