Amazon employs 75,000 people in the UK. On Tuesday, Coventry warehouse workers began a 48-hour strike to demand higher wages and recognition of their union, in the face of the company's policy of denying the organization of its workers around the world.
About 1,400 workers at an Amazon warehouse in Coventry, central England, went on strike on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of their fight for higher wages and union recognition.
This action follows the submission of an application for mandatory union recognition by GMB union members to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). The CAC is the statutory body that will be responsible for determining whether more than half of Amazon workers in Coventry are members of the GMB union.
If more than 50% of workers are affiliated, Amazon must formally recognize the union, while if the CAC determines that the union represents more than 40% but less than 50% of the workforce, a vote will be held among workers in its favor. Definition of trade union organization.
If union organization is recognized in Coventry, this will be something new for the company's workers around the world. Amazon, owned by Jeff Bezos, the second richest person in the world, implements an open anti-union policy, including persecuting activists, using law firms to intimidate workers and blackmailing workers inside factories to avoid organizing.
In the case of Great Britain, the Amazon fight also includes the fight for higher wages. In recent years, the UK has seen a wave of strikes to avoid wage losses due to inflation that included key sectors such as ports, transport, energy, health and education.
Amazon employs 75,000 people in the UK, placing it among the top ten private sector employers.
The company, which had been the target of questioning by its workers around the world over working conditions, persecution, spying, low wages and long hours, was feeling the impact of unionization efforts around the world. In 2022, workers at an Amazon warehouse in New York City voted to form the company's first union, becoming an example that fuels organizing efforts at other factories across the country.
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