KKE and KNE mobilise in support of International Dockworkers’ Action Against War as global mobilisation expands

The KKE’s Attica Party Organisation has called on workers, young people and the wider population to support the mobilisation at Piraeus, Greece’s largest port. The party is promoting the slogans “Dockworkers do not work for war” and “Ports of the peoples and peace—not bases for the imperialists.” It has also invited artists to contribute works addressing the international action and the planned strike in Piraeus.

In an article published on the KKE’s international website, the party described the 30 October mobilisation as an opportunity to unite dockworkers, seafarers, ship-repair workers and metalworkers against the involvement of Greece in imperialist wars and the transformation of strategic infrastructure into links in military supply chains. The KKE also stressed the connection between war preparations and pressure on workers’ living standards, including stagnant wages, deteriorating working conditions and the diversion of public resources towards military expenditure.

KNE has likewise called for youth participation in the mobilisation, including through student demonstrations planned for 30 October. Its intervention reflects the organisations’ broader effort to involve young people and students in opposition to war and to the use of transport infrastructure for military purposes.

The campaign takes place amid preparations for extensive industrial action in the Piraeus area. Dockworkers at Piers II and III, represented by the ENEDEP union, have voted to strike, while workers in ship repair and metalworking have also decided to participate. The Piraeus Labour Centre has called for a wider 24-hour strike involving unions across several sectors. These are trade-union decisions, but they provide the immediate context for the KKE and KNE’s political campaign.

For the KKE, the mobilisation is also linked to demands for collective agreements, wage increases, secure employment and stronger health and safety protections. The party argues that workers should not bear the risks of transporting military cargo or the economic consequences of escalating international conflicts.

The 30 October action builds on the previous international dockworkers’ mobilisation on 6 February. The KKE presents the renewed initiative as an expression of international working-class solidarity, bringing workers from different countries together against war and the use of ports for military purposes.

International mobilisation expands ahead of 30 October

The international dockworkers’ day of action against war and the militarisation of ports has continued to gain support in the final days before the planned mobilisation. On 21 October, Italy’s Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) reported that participation had expanded to more than 100 ports in 17 countries across four continents. Among the organisations newly joining the initiative were ILWU Local 10 in the ports of San Francisco and Oakland, the Veracruz dockworkers’ union in Mexico, and port workers represented by ver.di in Hamburg. USB also reported that the European Dockworkers Council had decided to participate.

Support has also broadened beyond the original Mediterranean and European network. On 25 October, the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) called on dockworkers and their unions in South Africa and across Africa to join the action, urging affiliated unions to organise collective activity in ports and build international solidarity. SAFTU stressed that port infrastructure must not be used to facilitate military aggression and the transport of weapons used against civilians.

On 26 October, the World Federation of Trade Unions’ Trade Unions International of Transport, Ports, Fishery and Communications Workers issued a further appeal for participation. It called on affiliated dockworkers’ unions to join the mobilisation and encouraged workers in transport, fishing and communications to organise solidarity actions of their own.

Italy is emerging as a particularly important centre of activity. USB has called a general strike across public and private sectors on 30 October against the war economy and the rising cost of living, linking opposition to militarisation with demands for higher wages, improved pensions and better working conditions.

The expanding campaign continues to connect opposition to war and arms shipments with workplace demands, including secure employment, decent wages, occupational safety and resistance to port automation. The final scale of participation and the precise actions planned at individual ports will need to be assessed once the mobilisation takes place.