MOTION

[BRANCH / LOCAL / REGION] of [UNION NAME]

Motion on solidarity with the 30 October 2026 international port action, and on the militarisation of our own sector

Proposed by: [NAME]   Seconded by: [NAME]   Date: [DATE]

PREAMBLE

This branch notes that on 30 October 2026, one hundred ports across four continents will take action against the militarisation of ports and the use of dock labour to supply wars of aggression.

This branch notes that the dockworkers' fight is not a sectional dispute. It is a fight about who our labour serves, and that question is asked of every worker in every sector.

This branch notes that the militarisation dockworkers are resisting is already entrenched in our own sector. [Name some examples here: the military contracts in your workplace, the arms manufacturers in your pension fund, the dual-use cargo in your supply chain, the surveillance systems within your institutions. If you are in healthcare, you can name staffing cuts or the use of Palantir-type systems; if in education, you can name the class sizes and underfunding; if in transport you can name the military freight in your terminals.]

This branch notes that in fourteen months, 315 shipments of components for Israeli weapons manufacturers have been tracked, through 56 commercial ports in countries from Germany to India to Brazil, and 3,400 shipments of US military cargo through 67 ports in 42 countries, as noted in the Dockworkers Do Not Work for War coalition's press briefing of 15 October 2026.

This branch notes that after the US and Israeli attack on Iran began on 28 February 2026, military cargo through Antwerp, Civitavecchia, Piraeus, Bremerhaven and Rotterdam going to US bases rose by as much as 1,000%.

This branch notes that at least 22 seafarers have been killed in the Strait of Hormuz since February 2026, and that up to 20,000 were stranded on their ships while shipowners earned up to a million dollars a day on a single voyage and rationed one meal a day to stranded crews.

This branch notes that the war has delivered windfall profits to those who profit from it. Eight of the biggest oil companies made more than 90 billion dollars in a single three-month period. The largest US banks reported nearly 48 billion dollars in profits in the first quarter alone. Weapons manufacturers' order backlogs have reached record levels, funded by public money.

This branch notes that the same governments imposing austerity on public services are finding unlimited money for armament and military infrastructure, and that this is a choice, not a shortage.

This branch notes that war is not something that happens elsewhere. It arrives in fuel bills, food prices, rents and interest rates, and it is paid for by the workers who are told there is nothing left for them.

RESOLVES

1. This branch declares its full solidarity with the dockworkers and seafarers taking action on 30 October 2026, and recognises their struggle as our own.

2. This branch calls on [UNION NAME]'s national leadership to issue a public statement of support for the 30 October action, and to communicate that statement to members and to the press.

3. This branch calls on [UNION NAME] to oppose the militarisation of civilian infrastructure and public institutions, and to refuse any partnership, contract or investment that puts our members' labour at the service of war.

4. This branch calls on [UNION NAME] to audit and disclose any exposure of our members' pension funds, investments or employer contracts to arms manufacturers and military logistics.

5. This branch calls on [UNION NAME] to demand that public money be spent on wages, housing, health, education and the energy transition rather than on armament and military infrastructure, and to campaign against austerity on that basis.

6. This branch commits to organising workplace-level solidarity on or around 30 October, in whatever form is appropriate to our members and lawful in our jurisdiction.

7. This branch instructs its delegates to raise this motion at [REGIONAL / NATIONAL] conference, and to seek the adoption of a standing position against the militarisation of civilian infrastructure and the use of workers' labour for war.

8. This branch agrees to report back to members on what was done, and to continue the work beyond 30 October.