Dockworkers strike 113 ports in 22 countries over arms shipments

More than 25 trade unions staged a one-day strike at 113 ports across 22 countries, including Piraeus, Le Havre, Genoa, Valencia, Algeciras, Tanger Med and Nhava Sheva.

The strike took place on October 30 against arms shipments and war deaths, according to TBS News.

Organisers said about 52,000 containers and $2.8 billion of cargo were affected, but Reuters said it could not verify the figures.

Apostolos Kypraios, head of the Greek union of merchant marine engineers, told Reuters during a rally at the port of Piraeus: "We will not work for their wars, and we will not become food for their cannons." The Greek seafarers' union PENEN said seafarers had suffered casualties numbering in the hundreds, including the dead and the severely injured.

What do these terms mean?

Trade union: an organisation that represents workers in negotiations with employers and defends their rights.

Container: a large metal box in which goods are packed for transport by ship, rail and truck.

Transshipment port: a port through which goods from one country pass before being shipped onward to their final destination.

Supply chain: the sequence of stages goods pass through from the factory until they reach the consumer.