Amazon workers at UK warehouse strike again
MORE than 1,000 workers at an Amazon warehouse in central England went on strike on Tuesday (Nov 7) as part of a long-running dispute over pay, the GMB trade union said.
The workers, who walked out of the US retail giant’s site in Coventry, also plan to strike on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as Nov 24, which is Black Friday and a key date in Amazon’s calendar.
Workers at the Coventry site first went on strike in January.
The latest action comes at the back end of a year that has seen wider industrial unrest in the UK as employees demand better wage rises to deal with high inflation.
“We offer competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, opportunities for career growth, all while working in a safe, modern, work environment,” Amazon said in a statement.
“At Amazon, these benefits and opportunities come with the job, as does the ability to communicate directly with the leadership of the company.”
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Amazon, which employs 75,000 in the UK, said last month that from Oct 15, minimum starting pay would increase by at least £1 an hour to between £11.80 and £12.50, depending on location.
Pay rates will further increase to between £12.30 and £13 an hour from April next year.
Amazon said the increases would cost it £170 million (S$283.7 million) and mean its minimum starting pay will have risen by 20 per cent in two years, and 50 per cent since 2018.
Britain’s government mandated minimum wage is £10.42 an hour for people 23 and over.
Amazon has been feeling the pinch of unionisation efforts globally. Last year, workers at an Amazon warehouse in New York City voted to form the first union at the company. REUTERS
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