Dockworkers Strike for a Day at 113 Ports in 22 Countries Over Arms Shipments and Working Conditions
Across Europe and beyond — Dockworkers in many countries struck on October 30 to protest the use of their ports for arms shipments and to demand better working conditions. Organizers said 113 ports in 22 countries took part; Reuters noted that the impact of the action could not be independently verified.
The action was backed by more than 25 unions, originally called in Italy, France, Greece, Spain's Basque Country, Turkey and Morocco, and covered major hubs including Piraeus in Greece, Valencia in Spain, Le Havre and Algeciras, Genoa in Italy, Morocco's Tangier Med and India's Nhava Sheva. In France, the CGT ports and docks federation called a 24-hour stoppage at about 24 ports covering some 14,000 port workers, including 7,500 dockers.
Strikers also cited the rising toll on seafarers in war-related shipping, calling for pay rises, better conditions and doctors on board vessels crossing war zones. Union figures cited 28 attacks on vessels in the Gulf in the first 21 days of October and 570 confirmed attacks in the Black Sea so far this year, leaving 40 seafarers dead. In May, dockworkers' unions from more than 35 European countries issued the Istanbul Declaration demanding that port facilities not be used to transport weapons destined for war zones.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：意大利 Genoa 港集装箱码头资料图。CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A container ship at the port of Genoa, Italy, file photo. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
