International dockers strike shows how to defeat imperialism

On 30 October, thousands of dockers from over 25 unions in 113 ports on six continents went on strike, in an inspiring and highly coordinated protest against militarisation, war, and attacks on dockworkers’ rights. In a world of capitalist decay, where workers and youth are confronted on a daily basis by all the horrors and brutalities of imperialism, this international dockworkers’ strike is a shining example to the whole labour movement. But we must not stop here.

Dockworkers have consistently taken a leading role in opposing war and militarism for years now. Since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza three years ago, dockers in Italy, Greece, Spain, France and many more countries have on many occasions bravely acted to block weapons shipments to the Middle East.

Preparations for Friday’s strike were ongoing for months. The idea for an international day of action by dockworkers under the slogan ‘Dockers don’t work for war’ was raised over a year ago at a meeting of militant trade unions hosted by the USB in Italy. Initial meetings were followed by a series of discussions between unions from around the Mediterranean, resulting in the Istanbul Declaration, which states:

“We reaffirm our firm NO to the war economy, to rearmament plans of governments and plans to militarise ports and strategic infrastructure, because our resources must be used to fund the needs of the people, alongside wages and health and safety measures in the workplace.”

“Trade unions must step up vigilance, inform workers, expose war cargoes and organise constant, collective mass resistance using all available means.”

This is precisely the militancy that is needed. Indeed, Friday’s strike was the culmination of the plans laid out in the declaration, but its reach extended far beyond the initially Mediterranean scope. Strikes by dockworkers were concentrated in Europe, but also took place in every corner of the globe, from Melbourne to Montevideo, and from Mumbai to Malmö.

🌎 113 ports - 5 continents - 22 countries and regions - more than 25 unions ✊ October 30 is a momentous and historic mobilisation, a powerful expression of class-based and internationalist coordination against exploitation, imperialist aggression and war. 🚫 We don't work for war

Dockworkers play a fundamental role in the global supply chains that imperialism relies upon, particularly since the start of the war in Ukraine and the wars on Gaza and Iran. It is no accident that Friday’s strike was taken up by workers across Europe in particular, given that the continent has become the world’s biggest arms importer over the last five years.

The workers involved in loading and unloading the weapons of imperialist war are not blind to the significance of the role that they play. Announcing the strike, the unions involved rightly denounced the militarisation of dockers’ workplaces:

“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.”

It is precisely this pivotal position in the transport network that gives dockworkers their unique ability to cripple the war machine. Organisers estimated that Friday’s strike could have disrupted as many 52,000 containers with a total value of $2.8 billion. This shows the enormous power that has remained latent in this layer of workers.

It is not hard to imagine the immense impact that action on an even larger scale by this militant section of workers could achieve. This is an invaluable lesson that the workers’ movement in general should pay attention to.

Crucially, dockworkers linked Friday’s action not only to the struggle against war and imperialism, but also to wider political and economic demands. As one dockworker in Italy correctly stated:

“Your government moves 5 percent of GDP into the military, and then you sit at a table with them and they tell you, we don’t have the money. There’s a fucking political problem. It’s not a union problem”

In Italy, the strike dovetailed with the massive day of action involving hundreds of thousands of workers and youth fighting against unbearable living and working conditions. This is an important step, as it ties the dockworkers’ struggle to the wider struggle against all the crises facing workers and youth. In the words of one USB member in Genoa:

“At this stage, every sector is realising that only by joining forces can we really express, strongly and clearly, all the reasons that bring us into the streets.”

Elsewhere, workers also organically connected the struggle against militarism and war with the struggle for a better life. The head of the dockers’ union in Piraeus, Greece’s largest port, told Reuters that workers cannot even afford petrol to make it to the supermarket, as a result of the inflation stoked by the war on Iran in particular.

But dockworkers also face a more immediate risk from ongoing imperialist conflicts. Hundreds of workers on ships and in ports have been killed in recent months as bosses have forced work to continue despite risks of being targeted in the Black Sea or around the Strait of Hormuz.

“We will not work for their wars, and we ​will not become food for their cannons,” said the head of the Greek union of merchant marine engineers. “We have ⁠felt it first hand, and our families have felt it too, living with the anxiety of whether a colleague will ​get back home.”

Such fears are not exclusive to dockworkers. They are universally felt by workers and youth. It is no coincidence that this strike has occurred in parallel with the ongoing mobilisations in France, Spain, Italy, Albania, Brazil, etc. All are the result of growing anger among a wide layer of the exploited, which has grown weary of inaction and is looking for new and more radical solutions.

The dockworkers’ strike must serve as a model for how the similar demands being raised internationally can be achieved. Coordinated, militant action by workers around the world, supported by the radical youth, would put the fear of God into the hearts of the imperialist warmongers, who oppress and exploit at home in order to butcher abroad.

But, as the dockers have shown, such tactics require a high level of organisation and coordination.

To be successful, the need for coordinated international strikes and the example of the dockworkers must be promulgated throughout all the key sectors of the economy, and connected to a revolutionary programme for the transformation of society.

This final point is crucial. Friday’s strike showed that dockers can slam the brakes on the war machine, but it is not enough for the workers to hold the bosses hostage. They must seize power for themselves. This is the only way to bring down the capitalist system and the wars it engenders once and for all.