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      Transport unions condemn Ukraine invasion

      25 February 2022

      Image:The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) and the UK Trades Union Congress call for the immediate end of conflict and peace to be achieved through diplomacy. Image: Getty Images
      The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) and the UK Trades Union Congress call for the immediate end of conflict and peace to be achieved through diplomacy. Image: Getty Images

      Transport unions have expressed solidarity with the people of Ukraine and called for an immediate ceasefire in the country.

      The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) released a joint statement on Friday 25 February 2022 highlighting the dangers facing transport workers as a result of the conflict.

      The UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) issued a statement condemning the illegal invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine and calling for Russia to respect Ukrainian territorial integrity.

      The TUC called for 'all governments to reach a solution through diplomacy, including a return to the framework of the Minsk agreements, to bring about peace, democracy, security and human and trade union rights for all in Europe, Ukraine and Russia.'

      The ITF-ETF joint statement said: 'We know transport workers are particularly under threat. We have received confirmed and unconfirmed reports of military targeting transport infrastructure, the change of control of airports and railways, and the shutdown of airspace and ports.'

      The statement was signed by ITF president Paddy Crumlin, ITF general secretary Stephen Cotton, ETF president Frank Moreels and ETF general secretary Livia Spera.

      The ITF and ETF support a peaceful settlement, calling for 'all parties, including Russia and Ukraine, as well as across Europe and the NATO States, [to] do all in their power to de-escalate tensions and seek a peaceful, diplomatic end to this crisis, and "not start what may be the most devastating war since the start of the century" as UN Secretary-General António Guterres said.'

      The TUC supports the call by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for neighbouring governments to keep borders open to those that need safety. The TUC also calls on the UK government to 'play its part in supporting humanitarian assistance for forcibly displaced people and to welcome refugees seeking to come to the UK.

      'We send our solidarity to our Ukrainian trade union sisters and brothers and all the people of Ukraine; we know that working people in Europe, Ukraine and Russia want peace and we encourage solidarity between workers across borders,' the TUC said.

      You can read the both the TUC and ITF-ETF statements on their websites.

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