Amazon staff at new UK warehouse to strike on Jan 25

WORKERS at Amazon’s new distribution centre in Birmingham, England have voted to join ongoing strike action at the company over pay and working conditions, the GMB trade union said on Tuesday (Jan 9).

Around 100 workers at the warehouse will take strike action on Jan 25, said GMB, which has not been formally recognised by the US e-commerce giant.

A spokesperson for Amazon said the strike would cause “zero disruption” to customers and that 19 union members out of 2,000 employees at the warehouse had voted in favour of industrial action.

The company, which employs 75,000 people in Britain, added that it planned to raise minimum starting pay to £12.30 to £13 (S$20.80 to S$22) an hour by April.

Minimum wage in Britain is set to rise to £11.44 an hour from April.

Over the past year, hundreds of employees have walked out during previous strikes at another Amazon warehouse, in Coventry, central England without much disruption to Amazon’s operations.

SEE ALSO

Angry farmers stage Germany-wide tractor blockades

Doctors in England start the longest strike in NHS history

DECODING ASIA

Navigate Asia in
a new global order

Get the insights delivered to your inbox.

“The message from GMB members at Amazon is the same; recognise our union and end poverty pay,” GMB Organiser Rachel Fagan said. REUTERS