Workers at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse have announced six fresh strike dates, as the GMB union prepares to test support for stoppages among staff at another five of the delivery company’s sites.
Strikes at the vast Coventry centre, known as BHX4, began in January – the first industrial action ever taken against Amazon in the UK. Staff are demanding pay of £15 an hour.
The GMB claims to have signed up hundreds of new members among the workforce at Coventry and in Amazon sites further afield since the dispute began.
Amazon announced a fresh pay rise for all its UK staff earlier this month but the union said this amounted to an average of only 1.8%-2.5%, describing it as “an insult”.
More than 560 workers are now expected to join in two three-day stoppages, one from 16-18 April and another from 21-23 April. Previously fewer than 300 staff were involved. The union believes it is edging closer to the 50% membership that would allow it to apply for statutory recognition.
Amanda Gearing, the senior GMB organiser involved, said: “Industrial action is growing and this could fast become a summer of strike chaos for Amazon.
“Six further days of strike action in Coventry is a clear statement from our members they are worth more; they will not accept a pay rise of pennies from one of the world’s wealthiest corporations.”
She called on the company to “urgently get serious and talk pay with GMB now”.
The GMB will also gauge the appetite for strike action among other Amazon workers by holding consultative votes at another five distribution centres: Coalville and Kegworth, both in Leicestershire; Mansfield in Nottinghamshire; Rugeley in Staffordshire; and Rugby in Warwickshire.
If these votes yield positive results, formal strike ballots could then be held.
The dispute in Coventry began with an informal walkout last summer, after staff were told they would receive a pay rise of 50p an hour. Some felt this did not give sufficient recognition of the fact they had worked throughout the pandemic. By the end of April they will have taken 14 days of strike action.
Staff gathered on picket lines when the dispute kicked off in January cited the soaring cost of living, as well as a “stressful” culture of targets, to explain their decision to stop work.
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The strikers have received the support of the local MP, Taiwo Owatemi, as well as US-based union activists who have been pressing for recognition at Amazon sites.
Amazon, which does not voluntarily recognise or negotiate with unions, has pointed out that the Coventry dispute involves less than 1% of its total UK workforce.
A spokesperson said: “We regularly review our pay to ensure we offer competitive wages, and we’re pleased to be announcing another increase for our UK teams.
“Over the past seven months, our minimum starting pay has risen by 10%, and by more than 37% since 2018. We also work hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities.”
Amazon announced earlier this year that it would close three of its UK warehouses; but it is currently building two more, including one in Peddimore, in the West Midlands, that is expected to create 1,400 jobs, which the mayor, Andy Street, has welcomed as “a massive vote of confidence”.