Amazon workers vote to strike UK warehouses for first time | Business News

Amazon workers at a UK warehouse have voted to strike for the first time.

warehouse employee coventry Will walk out in the new year with what the GMB union says will be a 50p-an-hour pay rise.

Earlier, more than 98% of workers voted to strike, with a turnout of more than 63%, adding to the number of UK employees who have gone on strike this winter.

Union bosses slam ‘completely inadequate’ pay proposals – latest strike update

Amanda Gearing, senior GMB organizer, said the workers “made history” as they set to become the first Britons amazon Warehouse employees have participated in formal strikes in the past.

“The fact that they were forced to strike in order to earn decent pay from one of the most valuable companies in the world should be a symbol of shame for Amazon,” she added.

“Amazon has the ability to do better. It’s not too late to avoid strike action; negotiate with minibuses to improve workers’ wages and working conditions.”

The vote was announced on another day of a break in strikes across the UK, with rail workers on strike again alongside bus and road workers.

it happened after the nurses on strike Joined first NHS-wide strike on Thursday.

read more:
Everything you need to know about the UK’s winter of strikes

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An Amazon spokesperson insisted that the company offers “competitive compensation.”

“We appreciate the excellent work our teams do throughout the year and we are proud to offer competitive salaries starting from as low as £10.50 to £11.45 an hour, depending on location,” they said.

“This represents a 29% increase in the minimum hourly wage paid to Amazon workers since 2018.

“Employees also receive thousands of dollars worth of comprehensive benefits – including private health insurance, life insurance, meal allowances and employee discounts, to name a few.

“In addition to this, we are delighted to announce that full-time, part-time and seasonal frontline staff will receive an additional one-off special payment of up to £500 as an added thank you.”

Amazon is one of the most valuable companies in the world, with a market capitalization of $880bn (£723.1bn).

But like many big tech companies, it has announced plans to lay off thousands of employees That comes amid lackluster growth forecasts for the industry as a whole.

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