Palestine

Call from the Trade Unionists on Board the Flotilla to Gaza

We, trade unionists from Switzerland, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain currently engaged in the Global Sumud Flotilla en route to Gaza, are launching this appeal to our comrades from trade union organizations across five continents. For several days, some have already been on their way, while others are preparing together, at the foot of the boats, driven by the same determination: to open a humanitarian corridor to Gaza, where the population is under blockade and being exterminated. The inhabitants are dying of hunger. On August 22, 2025, the UN officially declared a state of famine in Gaza. One in three children suffers from acute malnutrition, and every day, entire families die from deprivation organized by Netanyahu's Israeli government. We refuse to remain spectators. Our boats carry food and emergency aid. Our objective is clear. Through legal and nonviolent action, we are moving to lift the siege, force the opening of a humanitarian corridor, and compel the Israeli authorities to allow land convoys loaded with vital supplies to pass. This is urgent! We believe that trade union organizations committed to the self-determination of peoples and to peace must express even more strongly their determination to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

This requires expanding the number of trade union organizations that support the flotilla and actively work, by all possible means, to mobilize workers to ensure the safety of the flotilla and its participants. We call on our fellow union members around the world to join the call of the Genoa dockers' union, which has led the way by stating that it would blockade the port if our ships were attacked. But now and without delay, we urge you to mobilize your unions to provide all concrete support to the flotilla and the accomplishment of its mission. This fight goes beyond us individually. It concerns our role as workers who keep the economy going. International law is being trampled underfoot. We have a duty to stop the ongoing genocide. If aid is prevented from reaching Gaza, if the flotilla is boarded, if we are abducted by the Israeli occupation forces, then we call on you to implement all necessary initiatives, including strikes, to exert pressure on the economy and force national and international authorities to finally act effectively. It is together, through the determination and solidarity of workers, that we will put an end to these crimes and impose the opening of a humanitarian corridor. The people of Gaza are calling on us for help. Let us all respond together!