UK: Amazon warehouse workers strike for the first time in the UK demanding higher wages and better working conditions
On the 25th of January 2023, 300 Amazon workers at the warehouse in Coventry went on a strike called by the GMB union - the first time UK employees of the ecommerce giant have taken industrial action. This alone is a success for unions, who have struggled in vain for years to gain strong presence in the sector. The strikers demand higher wages in light of inflation and higher cost of living. At the same time, new research commissioned by the Trade Union Congress found that workers face "gruelling" conditions as well as being intensively monitored.
Amazon has rejected the workers' demands, claiming it offers "competitive pay".
Strikes continued throughout March and April, with GMB union stating in April that it had enrolled a majority of workers at Amazon's Coventry warehouse which qualifies them for recognition by law. Amazon said it "respects its employees' rights to choose to join or not join a labour union".
Following the action in Coventry, GMB union members in Rugeley, Staffordshire, and Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, are also set to vote in the next few weeks.
In May 2023, Freedom News reported outsourced migrant cleaners employed by facilities management company Phosters would be the first UK workers to win union recognition following strike action.