Worker boycotts back Ukraine

A flurry of worker-imposed boycotts on Russian trade in solidarity with Ukraine has followed Russia’s invasion.

On 6 March workers refused to unload Russian oil from the tanker Seacod docked at a terminal on the River Mersey. Unite’s General Secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Unite workers at the facility will under no circumstances unload any Russian oil regardless of the nationality of the vessel which delivers it.” At the time of writing, the boat is sailing directionless in the Irish sea.

On Monday 28 February, Unite issued a statement that they would support a workers’ boycott of the NS Champion oil tanker due to dock in Flotta oil terminal on the Orkney Islands the following day. Their action led to the government tightening sanctions to ban vessels “with any Russian connection” in UK waters. The NS Champion was turned around.

On Wednesday 2 March dockers organised in Unison at the Isle of Grain terminal in Kent issued a statement that they would refuse to unload cargoes of Russian oil and gas. Unison activists had realised that ships due in Kent were not Russian-owned and so did not fall under government restrictions. The following day two tankers carrying Russian liquid natural gas (LNG) had turned around.

On the West Coast of the USA, the International Longshore Workers Union, issued a statement they would not work Russian ships or cargoes: “With this action in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, we send a strong message that we unequivocally condemn the Russian invasion.” The ILWU has a proud tradition of solidarity action, with the recent BLM protests and previously in opposition to the Iraq war.

As “political” industrial action, these acts of solidarity are illegal under the UK anti-union laws. It is extremely positive that workers are defying the law and showing unequivocal support for Ukraine.

Russian exports of oil and gas amounted to $235 billion in 2021.

Government sanctions so far have not targeted Russian fossil fuels which they regard as the “lifeblood of the western economy” (Financial Times, 4 March). Gazprombank, which organises the payments for Russia’s state-owned gas company, is not included in the list of financial institutions that NATO countries want banned from the SWIFT payment system.

But the markets suggest capitalists are shunning Russia hydrocarbons. 70% of Russian crude was struggling to find a customer last week and the Russians have been forced to offer their oil at record high discounts. European gas firms are pulling out of contracts with Russia early or planning to not renew. There are growing calls for Iran-style sanctions. The International Energy Agency has released a 10-point plan to wean Europe off dependency on Russian gas and oil.

Yet Western governments are still worried about the effect on their own economies. Each further squeeze on Russian fossil fuels will drive up the price of other commodities, and they are already soaring. Putin himself may decide there is a tactical advantage in cutting off the fossil fuel supply to Europe. Last week Russia suspended the export of fertilisers.

Unison and Unite have pointed out that the sanctions regime is full of loopholes and has called on the government for a total ban on any Russian fossil fuels entering the UK.

But bourgeois governments and commentators have been clear that they expect workers to shoulder the economic pain of war and sanctions. Early indications suggest they are looking to replace Russian hydrocarbons with gas and oil from other sources, rather than organise the long overdue shift to renewables. Without worker action on renewables, jobs and pay, sanctions will likely increase inequality and fossil fuel extraction.

The private ownership of energy has created vast inequality and vicious imperialist military powers, and has locked the world into a trajectory of an ever escalating climate emergency. The Stanlow Oil Refinery workers took an important stand against Russian imperialism this week, but they remain employed by Essar Energy, which is 50% owned by Russia’s state-owned oil company Rosneft.

Since the takeover in 2017, the wealth produced by their labour has been siphoned off to further Putin’s war aims. The labour of all energy workers goes to enrich and empower fossil capitalists and petro-states at the expense of peace and a liveable future for our children.

Who pays for this crisis, and whether it will be resolved by international workers’ solidarity or an imperialist carve-up, will be determined by the extent to which workers can build on these first acts of solidarity and stand together for our collective interests.