(Photo: AP)

Workers for Peace, Against Escalation and Domination
2 March 2026

The Building and Wood Workers’ International condemns the illegal war of aggression initiated by the United States and Israel against Iran, the reckless pursuit of regime change through military force, and the resulting cycle of military escalation, including Iran’s retaliatory strikes, which has deepened instability across the Middle East and led to the tragic deaths of many civilians, including schoolchildren, caught in the violence.

This is not only a regional crisis. It reflects a broader and dangerous trend: the concentration and privatisation of political power, combined with the normalization of unilateral military action and coercive measures as tools of political influence. When decisions of war and peace are detached from democratic accountability and multilateral oversight, the foundations of international stability crumble.

This pattern is not isolated. From Ukraine to Palestine and Venezuela and elsewhere, we see repeated situations in which military force, sanctions, and external pressure are used to shape political outcomes. Whatever the stated justification, such approaches risk creating a world where the most powerful states reserve for themselves the right to decide the fate of others.

Trade unions cannot accept a world governed by force rather than law.

History teaches us a hard truth: wars are not made by workers, and wars do not serve the working people. Rather, they serve geopolitical competition and, too often, entrenched economic interests of those profiting from strategic dominance and financial speculation.

Construction workers, including many migrant workers, build societies. They do not destroy them. They are the ones who lose jobs, homes, safety, and in too many cases, their lives. Construction and building workers in particular know what it means to rebuild what war destroys, often under dangerous and exploitative conditions.

We are approaching a moment of grave global danger. Military actions near nuclear facilities risk catastrophic consequences. The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned that continued strikes in a region hosting multiple nuclear installations could push the world closer to a dangerous threshold. Escalation under these conditions is not only irresponsible, it threatens humanity as a whole.

BWI calls for:

• Immediate de-escalation and a ceasefire;
• Full respect for the UN Charter and international humanitarian law;
• A recommitment to multilateral diplomacy over unilateral force;
• Strict adherence to international nuclear safety standards;
• Active engagement of trade unions and civil society in building peace.

Peace will not come from missiles. Peace requires political courage and organised, collective pressure from below. It requires workers across borders to refuse the logic that divides us and instead assert our shared belief in dignity, justice, equality between nations and respect for international law.

Wars are not waged by the many for the many. They serve the few while working people bear the cost. In the face of this reality, solidarity across borders is our strongest defence and our shared responsibility to protect our common humanity.