On September 4, dockworkers held a nationwide strike in the ports of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, disrupting the movement of containers in northern European seaports. I am reporting this to the foreign media.
Disruptions are putting pressure on overstretched supply chains in Northern Europe amid challenges for global cargo flows, including unloading, mooring, towing and cargo screening. Tugboat workers joined the strike.
FNV Havens, a trade union representing Dutch port workers, has gone on strike to protest the government's proposed cuts in social benefits of 6.5 billion euros ($7.6 billion), including changes to the WW unemployment insurance system and the WIA disability benefits program. One of the proposed cuts provides for a reduction in the maximum period of payment of unemployment benefits from two to one year.
The strike followed a 48-hour protest at six German ports (Hamburg, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Emden and Breck) On September 2, after the failure of negotiations with the Central Association of German Seaport Operators (ZDS) on the issue of wages.
The strike had a particularly strong impact on container shipping in Hamburg, as it was attended by workers directly responsible for loading and unloading ships and containers.
The strikes in Germany and the Netherlands are unrelated, but their timing sets a precedent for Northern European shipping networks.
In 2025, Rotterdam's cargo turnover amounted to 428.4 million tons, including 14.2 million TEU. In the first half of 2026, 212 million tons of cargo passed through the port.
