HeathrowWorkersPower - Thoughts and news on direct action
At Heathrow, once we’ve decided what we want, what actions shall we take to get it? And what can our method of action tell us about what we want? Some recent events might give us some hints.
Livorno and Naples Dockworkers
Amidst the continuing atrocities against Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories, in mid-May, Italian dock workers at the Port of Livorno are refusing to load weapons destined for Israel. The workers of the USB (Unione Sindacale di Base) in collaboration with the Autonomous Collective of Port Workers of Genoa and the WeaponWatch association discovered the shipment and issued a statement. Dockworkers in Naples with the S.I.Cobas union also stated their determination to refuse to load military shipments destined for Israel, should they discover them. These actions aren’t totally spontaneous, but the result of ongoing organising work. Dockworkers in Genoa did the same in solidarity against the
Organisations such as Potere al Popolo (Power to the People, PoP), the Party of Communist Refoundation (PRC), Giovani Comuniste e Comunisti (Young Communists, GC), Communist Youth Front (FGC), Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) and the Italian Communist Party (PCI) took part in the demonstrations.
Progressive trade unions also held a health workers’ strike on May 21, demanding an end to profiteering from the pandemic and precarious working conditions.
PoP organised protests across the country on May 22, highlighting the demands of vaccines for all, public healthcare, social justice and for the right to work and dignity.
The Global Health Summit focused on coordinating worldwide efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic and was co-chaired by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Leaders from the G20, the European Union, and 15 international and regional organisations, including the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fu
ROME: Italian dockworkers have again refused to load weapons on ships headed for Israel, in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
A strike was proclaimed on Tuesday by trade unions in the port of Ravenna in northeast Italy after they learned that a ship, the Asiatic Liberty, was expected that would have to be loaded with weapons destined for the Israeli port of Ashdod.
“We didn’t want to legitimize in any way the departure of weapons from Italy to Israel, so we decided to cross our arms, even if it would’ve been costly,” Marcello Santarelli from the CGIL union told Arab News.
ROME: In solidarity with the Palestinian people, dockworkers in the Italian port of Livorno refused to load weapons on a cargo ship after discovering that they were headed for Israel.
“We’ve decided to say enough,” Giovanni Ceraolo, coordinator of the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), an independent trade union organization representing workers in the main commercial port of Tuscany in northern Italy, told Arab News.
“Whenever we know about loading, unloading or passage of armaments in our port, we’ll intervene. We’ll ask the competent authorities to stop the passage of those weapons, especially if they’re bound for places where they’ll certainly be used against civilians, as is happening now in Palestine,” he added. “If those weapons still come, we’ll do whatever we can to refuse loading or unloading them.”
ROME: Thousands of people gathered over the weekend in squares in Italy’s main cities and elsewhere in the country to express solidarity with the Palestinian people. Thousands gathered in Piazza dell’Esquilino, a huge square in Rome, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans of support.