Amazon workers have walked out at a warehouse in Coventry as they began fresh strikes to get the online retail giant to ‘formally recognise their union’.
Workers downed their tools at the Amazon fulfilment centre on Tuesday in the first of a fresh wave of strike dates in an ongoing dispute over pay, working conditions and for the recognition of the union.
Strike action will take place in Coventry today and tomorrow, Wednesday March 20, the GMB Union said.
Amazon said the strikes will have zero impact on customer orders and said that minimum starting salaries have risen by 50 per cent since 2018.
Workers will then walk out at Amazon’s new flagship headquarters in Birmingham, a £500million site that opened its doors in October, on March 27 and 28, next Wednesday and Thursday.
Amazon workers have this morning walked out at a warehouse in Coventry as they began fresh strikes to get the online retail giant to ‘formally recognise their union’
Workers on strike over pay, working conditions and demands for trade union recognition at the Amazon warehouse facility in Coventry today
Police officers stand by Amazon staff members on a GMB union picket line outside the online retailer’s site in Coventry, as they take part in a strike today
The strike dates come just days after GMB members at the company submitted an application for mandatory recognition at Amazon to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC).
The CAC – the Government body responsible for regulating collective bargaining between workers and employers – can force companies to recognise a trade union if more than 50 per cent of the workforce are members.
After over a year of industrial action, union membership at the company’s Coventry site has grown significantly and GMB has said it is confident of surpassing the legal threshold for recognition.
GMB Organiser Rachel Fagan said: ‘Amazon bosses wanted nothing more than a quiet year, but 2024 has already seen an explosive escalation of the strike wave hitting the company.
‘When workers down tools tomorrow, they’ll be starting a fresh wave of industrial action and sending a clear message that this only ends when their demands are met.
‘Our members are on the brink of forcing one of the world’s wealthiest corporations to formally recognise their union.
‘This would be history and the first time anywhere in Europe that Amazon has been forced to accept union recognition.
‘Strike action has been forced on these workers by low pay; now they’re determined to win.’
Strike action will take place in Coventry today and tomorrow Wednesday 20 March, the GMB Union said
Amazon said the strikes will have zero impact on customer orders and said that minimum starting salaries have risen by 50 per cent since 2018
Amazon staff members on a GMB union picket line outside the online retailer’s site in Coventry
A worker speaks through a megaphone at the Amazon strikes at their Coventry warehouse
An Amazon spokesperson said: ‘We regularly review our pay to ensure we offer competitive wages and benefits.
By April, our minimum starting pay will have increased to £12.30 and £13 per hour depending on location, that’s a 20% increase over two years and 50% since 2018.
We also work hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities.
These are just some of the reasons people want to come and work at Amazon, whether it’s their first job, a seasonal role or an opportunity for them to advance their career.’