Some 560 workers at an Amazon center in the English city of Coventry will go on strike for six more days this April, after having staged the first and historic strike by employees of the American multinational in the United Kingdom in January.
The GMB union announced Friday that it also plans to organize votes on future enforcement actions at five other Amazon plants in England, which could escalate the dispute against the e-commerce giant.
The workers demand a wage increase of up to 15 pounds per hour (17 euros), considering the increase of 50 pence (57 euro cents) to 10.5 pounds (11.9 euros) per hour applied by the company last year insufficient August.
They also demand an improvement in working conditions that they consider abusive, with long shifts with hardly any rest and individual goals that they see as excessive.
The strike announced today in Coventry – which has a workforce of between 1,200 and 2,000 people, according to union or company sources – will take place on April 16, 17 and 18 and 21, 22 and 23, which will also be added to the one-week strike that they organized this month of March.
“Six more days of strike action in Coventry is a clear statement from our members that they are worth more and will not accept a mere pence pay raise from one of the world’s richest corporations,” said Amanda Gearing, a union leader in the region. English Central Midlands.
Amazon, known for its anti-union stance and lacking collective agreements in the UK, has previously stated that it appreciates “the great work” of its teams and is “proud to offer a competitive salary with a minimum of between £10.50 and £11 .45 pounds (13 euros) per hour depending on the location”.
This represents “a 29% increase in the hourly minimum wage paid to our employees since 2018,” he said.
