Amazon staff vote for six months of strikes

Amazon warehouse unit successful Coventry person voted for six much months of strikes, the GMB has said.

It comes arsenic 800 national members walked retired connected the 19th time of concern action, with astir 500 workers taking to the picket enactment connected Wednesday.

Members are calling for an hourly wage emergence from £10.50 to £15 pursuing a 50p per hr wage connection from Amazon.

The retail elephantine said it regularly reviewed its wage connection to guarantee it offered competitory wages and benefits.

Amazon's minimum starting wage for employees would beryllium betwixt £11 and £12 per hour, depending connected location, it said.

GMB Union members besides paid a sojourn to Parliament connected Wednesday to sermon the substance with MPs.

Meanwhile, the national has withdrawn its bid for recognition astatine Amazon's Coventry warehouse, accusing the buying elephantine of "dirty tricks".

It claimed it had surpassed the fig of members needed to unafraid designation astatine the tract - but that Amazon had taken connected 1,000 other unit to scupper the bid.

Amanda Gearing, GMB elder organiser, said: "The ballot for six much months of onslaught enactment astatine Amazon Coventry shows these workers are successful for the agelong haul.

"Hiring other unit to contradict workers their close to a dependable successful the workplace is an obstacle, but it is not unsurmountable.

"These workers are angry, they cognize their rights and they volition not spell away."

An Amazon spokesperson said its wage was supra the nationalist surviving wage and it had spent much than £125m connected wage rises for UK hourly paid workers implicit the past 7 months.

The steadfast said: "Over the past 7 months, our minimum wage has risen by 10% and by much than 37% since 2018," they said.

"We besides enactment hard to supply large benefits, a affirmative enactment situation and fantabulous vocation opportunities."