Sailors to knock down workers (9)

I believe the answer is:

deckhands

'sailors' is the definition.
(deckhand is a kind of sailor)

'knock down workers' is the wordplay.
'knock down' becomes 'deck' (synonyms).
'workers' becomes 'hands' (hand is a kind of worker).
'deck'+'hands'='DECKHANDS'

'to' acts as a link.

(Another definition for deckhands that I've seen is " Crewmen".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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