As the Spanish government postpones voting on the port reform for another week, international dockworkers unions from neighboring countries are planning to join industrial action in support of their Spanish colleagues.

As a result, Spanish dockworker unions said that they would call off the strikes scheduled for March 6 and 8 in order to continue negotiations on the port reform model. The move was taken as a sign of goodwill, hoping to encourage the Ministry of Public Works to engage in “real” negotiations that would result in amending the bill before it is passed.

However, as tensions continue to heat up, the planned strike of Spanish trade unions announced as a response to the government’s reform plan, according to which at least 6,500 dockworkers could be laid off in the future, remains in place for March 10.

Reacting to the Spanish government’s move, the International Dockworkers Council (IDC) said that it has arranged through its affiliates in neighboring countries’ ports to boycott unloading of Spanish cargo during upcoming dockworkers’ strikes in Spain. “This day, to be held on March 10, will see ports in Europe stop work for three hours and ports in the rest of the world stop work for one hour. The IDC has met with leaders of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) to coordinate this joint action,” the IDC said.