Israeli shipping dispute intensifies as transport and tourism actions hit Australia, Kenya, Spain, and Italy, disrupting operations and travel
Zim workers in Israel have escalated a strike, sharply curtailing port operations and barring Chairman Yair Seroussi from facilities in Haifa, Holon, and Ashdod as they protest a planned $4.2 billion sale to Hapag-Lloyd. The union says it has halved the scope of the company’s approved exceptional activities, including the unloading of ships carrying agricultural produce. On February 22, the Knesset’s Economics Committee discussed the proposed sale, after union leaders met last month with several ministers and opposition lawmakers.
Related actions continue to affect transport and tourism. Unionized tandem skydiving instructors at Skydive Australia are on a three-day strike from February 20 to 23 amid pay talks, with the Australian Workers’ Union alleging the operator sought approval to recruit 37 overseas instructors on lower pay and discontinued local training. In Kenya, an airport workers’ strike on February 16 delayed flights at Nairobi’s main airport, stranding passengers, while taxi drivers in Spain’s Valencia region plan a 24-hour walkout from February 25 to 26 and aviation workers in Italy plan strikes on February 26 and March 7. Together, these actions affect shipping, aviation, road transport, and tourism across four continents.
February actions span shipping in Israel, aviation in Kenya and Italy, road transport in Spain, and tourism in Australia, indicating multi-sector labor activity across continents.