Dock and port workers across 110 ports in 22 countries and five continents are holding a coordinated strike on Friday, October 30, targeting military supply chains and demanding an immediate end to the genocide of the Palestinian people and all imperialist wars, aljazeera.com reported.
The Bottom Line
- Over 25 trade unions representing more than 110 ports globally are participating in the International Day of Action of Dockworkers and Port Workers.
- Campaign groups tracked 315 component shipments for Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, moving through 56 commercial ports between August 2025 and September 2026.
- Strikes range from up to two-hour actions to full 24-hour strikes in countries including France, Italy, India, Greece, and Turkiye.
Origins of the Mediterranean Labor Mobilization
The global action builds upon cross-border organizing that began in February 2025. Dockworkers’ unions from Mediterranean countries united to disrupt weapons shipments destined for Israel and Western countries’ military support of the onslaught.
“Weapons need transport, infrastructure, and workers’ hands to reach their destination,” Markos Bekris, leader of Greece’s dockworkers’ union, ENEDEP, at the Port of Piraeus in Athens, told aljazeera.com. “That is where our power lies.”
Following initial meetings in Athens and Genoa, union representatives gathered in Istanbul to publish the Istanbul Declaration in May this year. That declaration formally established October 30 as their day of action, broadening demands to include the recognition of an independent Palestinian state within 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Global Scope and Port Disruption Figures
Participating unions span five continents, with organizations in India, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, and the west coast of the United States pledging involvement, according to the campaigning collective No Harbour for Genocide (NHG). Most strikes coincide with regular working hours, while 24-hour stoppages were called in France, Italy, India, Greece, and Turkiye. Shorter two-hour strikes were announced in Morocco and Cyprus.
NHG tracked 315 shipments of components for Elbit Systems passing through 56 commercial ports across 29 countries between August 2025 and September 2026. Organizers project that more than $2bn worth of cargo will sit idle on October 30.
| Metric | Reported Figure |
|---|---|
| Participating Ports | 110+ across 22 countries |
| Involved Trade Unions | 25+ international unions |
| Tracked Elbit Systems Shipments | 315 shipments (Aug 2025 – Sep 2026) |
| Projected Idle Cargo Value | Over $2bn on October 30 |
Divergent Union Responses and Legal Repercussions
While international solidarity has expanded, responses among established labor organizations vary. Mohammed al-Attar, a dockworker who left Gaza in 2015 and now works in Hamburg, Germany, expressed hope regarding the strike while criticizing Germany’s Ver.di trade union for what he termed an “incomprehensible silence” over Gaza, aljazeera.com reported.
In Italy, Francesco Staccioli, national secretary of transport and ports for the USB trade union, noted that the mobilization exceeded initial expectations. Meanwhile, legal pressures face union leaders participating in supply disruptions. In Greece, ENEDEP leader Markos Bekris faces prosecution following a previous protest where workers blocked a container holding 21 tonnes of ammunition destined for Israel in October 2024.
“We carry forward the tradition of workers who refuse to load weapons against other people,” Bekris told aljazeera.com on the eve of the strike. “Our hands get covered in grease and sweat every day. We refuse to let them be stained with the blood of other people.”
