The “knee-jerk reactions” by governments to the new Omicron Covid-19 variant are putting transport workers and the global supply chain at greater risk of collapse, according to international transport organizations and unions representing road, air, and sea transport.

The International Chamber of Shipping, the International Transport Workers’ Federation, the International Road Transport Union, and the International Air Transport Association, have jointly called on governments not to reimpose border restrictions that further limit the freedom of movement of international transport workers and learn from the lessons of the last two years. “Cross-border transport workers including seafarers, air crew and drivers must be able to continue to do their jobs… without overly restrictive travel rules, to keep already ailing supply chains moving,” the ITF said in a statement.

At least 56 countries have reimposed varying degrees of travel restrictions one week after the World Health Organization designated the new Covid-19 strain as a “variant of concern”. The transport bodies, which represent more than $20trn of world trade per year and 65m global transport workers across the supply chain, have called for an end to the “rushed and fragmented approach” to travel rules by governments.

“This feels like Groundhog Day for our transport sectors,” ICS secretary-general Guy Platten said. “There is a real and legitimate fear that unless coordinated action is taken by world leaders we will see a return to the peak of the crew-change crisis in 2020 where more than 400,000 seafarers were impacted by unnecessarily harsh travel restrictions. Our transport workers have worked tirelessly for the past two years throughout the pandemic to keep the global supply chain moving, and they are at breaking point. December is traditionally a busy time for seafarers returning home to their families and governments owe them the chance to spend that time with their loved ones.”

The ITF general secretary Stephen Cotton said that those governments that blocked global vaccine access are now the first to lock down their borders. “Instead of pursuing a global solution to this pandemic, their decisions further risk supply chain collapse. It’s not only morally reprehensible, but also economic self-destruction.”