Amazon workers strike action in UK first
Firm rejects union involvement but is under pressure from "associates" agitating for improved pay and working conditions
October 2022
Heather Stewart news report
analysis review
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| How UK Amazon employees were on the verge of going on strike. |
Hundreds of Amazon workers at the company's huge warehouse in Coventry are trying to make history by becoming the first in the UK to vote in favour of strike action against the delivery giant, which won't work with unions.
Workers at the factory, which is located on property that was once home to Jaguar Land Rover, staged an unofficial walkout earlier this year after learning that their basic salary will increase by an annual 50p per hour.
They are now the first Amazon employees in the UK to participate in a formal ballot for strike action, calling for £15 an hour, with the support of the GMB union.
Amanda Gearing, a senior GMB organiser, said, "It's about standing up for the employees. We haven't told anyone, 'You have to do this,' to do this. They are expressing the desire to be able to deliver a protest that the management will consider.
Staff, referred to by Amazon as "associates," claim being required to stand for the duration of 10-hour shifts and being held to strict goals.
They are prepared to set striking dates for the crucial pre-Christmas period if the ballot produces a vote for industrial action.
Despite the union's admission that its recruiting campaign in Coventry is at an earlier stage, GMB members at the company's Doncaster warehouse are voting concurrently and will coordinate any action there with Doncaster.
Workers lobbying for better wages and working conditions are putting increasing pressure on Amazon in every country.
The Coventry workers were joined by Derrick Palmer, vice president of the Amazon Labor Union, who recently prevailed in a recognition dispute at an Amazon fulfilment centre on Staten Island, New York.
He said, "we kept pushing on, because we knew that Amazon wasn't going to stop. One of Amazon's anti-union methods included sending staff members text messages and emails telling them not to join up.
"We understood that in order to defeat a juggernaut like Amazon, we would have to take an unconventional, unheard-of approach. We were able to defeat them in the end because we all worked together, made a lot of noise, and stayed strong.
Bernie Sanders, a former candidate for the US presidency, also reached out to the activists to express his support.
Unions throughout the continent of Europe have also begun organising within Amazon and are closely monitoring events in the UK.
According to André Scheer of the powerful German union Verdi, "For us it's really vital that there is coordination, collaboration, amongst Amazon workers across Europe and worldwide."
It might be stronger: "We'd like to organise an international strike day, but organising one is quite challenging because laws vary from country to country."
German Amazon employees have gone on strike numerous times over wages and working conditions; one recent stoppage was timed to fall on a Polish public holiday to prevent the company from simply moving the work across the border.
An unplanned stoppage at the Coventry centre in August coincided with similar activity at other fulfilment centres, including those in Tilbury, Essex, and Rugeley, Staffordshire, when angry employees gathered in the canteen during working hours.
Following Amazon management's announcement of wage rises of less than £1 per hour – or 50p in the case of Coventry workers – there was a wave of protests. Given that they had to work throughout the Covid epidemic, the staff reported feeling particularly irritated.
According to GMB's Gearing, "They felt undervalued; it made them upset." In spite of Amazon's adamant opposition to unions, the union has been working with UK employees for almost a decade.
Staff have noted stricter adherence to workplace regulations since the union started organising, and a bus has been scheduled to drive employees directly to the fulfilment centre, skipping GMB recruiters at the gates.
About 300 of the 1,400 or so employees at the fulfilment centre participated in the consultative ballot that preceded the current poll.
There are hundreds more employees working there at the busiest seasons of the year.
Even while it represents a very small portion of the entire workforce, Gearing considers it a success given Amazon's steadfast refusal to participate. 97% of voters said they were ready to engage in industrial action.
In two instalments of £250, the corporation just announced a £500 cost-of-living payout. The second payment will be "based on no unauthorised absence between 22 November 22 and 24 December 22," according to a note to employees seen by the Guardian.
The GMB has directed attorneys to pursue legal action because it feels this may be an illegal inducement to refrain from striking. Amazon maintains that the payment, which is applicable to all of its UK employees, has nothing to do with any prospective strikes.
After hearing about the workers' struggles at a recent roundtable, Labour MP Taiwo Owatemi of Coventry North West informed the Guardian that she would support the workers' decision to go on strike.
"I know how hard it is for the employees to actually make that decision, and I know how much they have tried to connect with Amazon. Everybody has a right to a job where they are respected and valued, according to the speaker.
According to an Amazon spokeswoman, starting pay for workers now ranges from £10.50 to £11.45 per hour, depending on region. Since 2018, the minimum hourly pay paid to colleagues has increased by 29%.
The employee benefit payment of £500 was also mentioned by the spokesman, who also noted that employees are also given access to a "complete benefits package" that is "worth hundreds of dollars yearly."
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