Port Workers' International Action Day Demands End to Port Militarization

Port workers' unions from more than 40 Mediterranean and European ports organized an International Action Day on 30 October 2026, following the third International Meeting of Port Workers' Unions held in Istanbul in May 2026. The participating organisations – including CGT Ports and Docks (France), ENEDEP (Greece), LAB (Basque Country, Spain), Liman‑İş (Turkey), ODT (Morocco), USB (Italy) and ORSA Porti (Italy) – called for an immediate end to the genocide against the Palestinian people, recognition of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, and a halt to US‑Israeli attacks in West Asia. They also demanded that ports not be used for the transport of weapons, ammunition or troops, nor become bases for NATO, the United States or the European Union, and opposed the broader militarisation of strategic infrastructure.

In Germany, the trade‑union base initiative “Sagt nein! Gewerkschafter:innen gegen Krieg, Militarismus und Burgfrieden” responded to the DGB’s anti‑war day declaration, praising its rejection of conscription and US mid‑range weapons while criticizing the statement for ignoring the European Union’s own militarisation efforts. The initiative warned that the German government’s push to become Europe’s strongest military power would expand the war‑budget and burden workers through cuts to pensions, health care and public services.