Preparations for war with Russia and complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza have ignited a conflict over jobs, wages, and military production
Across Europe, the reality of gearing up for war has taken hold. In a single week this September, Poland issued new alerts, Germany conducted national drills, military exercises were staged throughout the Baltic region, and Lithuania unveiled evacuation strategies for Vilnius residents in case of an assault.
The Finnish government has again sounded the alarm about the threat of warfare, urging its population to prepare mentally and practically for the upheaval that would result.
On 18 September, French President Emmanuel Macron convened party leaders and presidential candidates at the Elysee Palace, where intelligence chiefs briefed them on what was described as the rapid worsening of the global situation.
Meanwhile, Nato increasingly speaks openly about Russian sabotage efforts, cyberattacks, arson incidents, and drone strikes.
However, many workers and citizens throughout Europe remain sceptical of this heightened war rhetoric.
Since 1 July, thousands of Airbus employees in Spain have been on strike after dismissing the company’s proposals on pay and working conditions.
Union leaders from UGT and CGT reported that the industrial action has slowed both military and commercial manufacturing, complicating Airbus’s ability to meet delivery deadlines. The company’s eight Spanish sites are responsible for producing military transport planes as well as components for commercial aircraft and satellites.
As detailed by the Defence Matters site “The industrial pressure is not confined to commercial aviation. Spain is central to Airbus Defence and Space, including military transport and satellite activity. European governments are asking manufacturers to increase output at the same time as companies compete for engineers, technicians and production workers.”
Tight supply chains have forced Airbus to employ large Antonov An-124 cargo planes to transport parts between factories, ensuring production continuity.
Air Data News highlighted that the strike endangers vital military aircraft projects, noting disruptions at the Eurofighter plant near Madrid and the military transport plane factory near Seville.
According to Spanish unions, roughly 90 percent of eligible workers joined the strike on 25 August, which is part of an ongoing indefinite stoppage. The walkouts followed plant-level votes rejecting Airbus’s offer.
French union representatives involved in the dispute noted that the three striking Spanish unions account for about 40 percent of Airbus Spain’s workforce of approximately 14,000. Their demands include pay raises indexed to inflation, reinstating prior remote work agreements, and restoring sick-leave benefits.
Following intervention by Industry Minister Jordi Hereu and Airbus concessions, the strike paused on 10 September; yet the movement persisted. Two days later, approximately 8,000 Airbus employees from Spanish sites rallied through Madrid to sustain pressure.
On 1 October, 77 percent of voters approved an enhanced deal securing restored purchasing power, inflation-linked pay increases, and protection of remote work rights—an outcome negotiated through months of industrial action.
The conflict at Airbus underscores the crucial influence workers wield within the sectors underpinning Europe’s militarization.
Trains and the TUC
In Scotland, the rail union RMT, drivers’ union Aslef, and the white-collar union TSSA have called on the Scottish government to remove the Spanish firm Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) from consideration for supplying ScotRail’s new suburban trains.
CAF appears on the UN human rights list of companies implicated in Israeli settlements due to its operation of Jerusalem’s light rail system and expansion into land illegally seized by Israel.
Aslef has clearly stated its members will refuse to operate CAF trains. This stance was supported by TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust, who urged the Scottish government to “think again.”
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay highlighted the issue by directly questioning the first minister: “So will the first minister agree that CAF should be blocked from this contract, and will he stand with the rail workers who have refused to drive trains produced by a company that they say profits from apartheid?”
The first minister responded by confirming that ScotRail is currently seeking advice regarding the contract.
For the second consecutive year, delegates at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) voted in favour of a motion opposing increased arms expenditure.
This year’s motion garnered even stronger backing than last year’s, which had reversed the TUC’s previous support—championed by the GMB and Unite unions—for higher defence budgets.
Alex Gordon, former RMT president and national officer of the Stop the War Coalition, stated in support: “This movement is about fighting for jobs, for public services, for investment in the industries of the future that our young people, that our young workers need.
“Those industries are not military industries. The skills of the workers in the military sector are vital skills, vital skills that need to be used in civilian production.”
Ports and classrooms
Dockworker unions across six countries are organizing a coordinated day of strikes and action on 30 October. Their aim is to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza and demand an immediate halt to the genocide of the Palestinian population.
This mobilisation follows a strike on 6 February that suspended cargo operations at over 20 Mediterranean and European ports to block arms shipments destined for Israel.
The unions declared in their statement, “No to the war economy, government rearmament plans, and the project of militarisation of ports and strategic infrastructure from [the] EU. Public resources must be used to meet people’s social needs, not to finance war.”
Among those signing the statement are CGT FNPD in France, Enedep in Greece, LAB in the Basque Country, Liman-Is in Turkey, ODT in Morocco, and Orsa Porti and USB in Italy.
In Germany, the younger generation appears increasingly resistant to the idea of a new continental conflict. Late September saw over 45,000 students leave their classrooms to protest against compulsory military service after hundreds of young men were called in for medical examinations.
The School Strike Against Conscription campaign reported demonstrations in more than 100 cities, following the German defence ministry’s new policy of medically screening 18-year-olds. While service remains voluntary, the screenings are mandatory.
Students demanded an end to the forced examinations, repeal of the military service legislation, and cessation of what they view as incremental reintroduction of the draft.
Currently, European political battles are being waged along these lines—a conflict between an establishment consumed by war and its preparation versus millions of workers unwilling to sacrifice wages, employment, and living standards for rearmament.
These are the initial confrontations in that fight.
Original article: middleeasteye.net
About the Author
