Amazon hit with fresh strikes in ‘huge blow’ after second bid for union recognition

Hannah Davenport 

Yesterday
Left Foot Forward

UK Amazon workers take 'another huge step forward in building a unionised workplace'

Amazon workers will take further strike action this month in an ongoing dispute with the delivery giant for better pay, conditions and union rights.

It follows on from the GMB union making a second formal bid for union recognition on behalf of Amazon UK workers, meaning the company is on the brink of being forced to recognise the trade union for the first time.

Companies can be forced into union recognition by the Central Arbitration Committee if more than 50% of the workforce become union members. GMB pulled out of a first bid for union recognition last year after it accused Amazon of using ‘dirty tricks’ and union busting tactics in hiring 1,000 new workers to undermine membership numbers.

If the union didn’t revoke its application it would have had to wait three-years before applying again. But the union is now ‘confident’ it can surpass the legal threshold for recognition, having seen a significant growth in membership over the past year of strike action.

GMB union organiser Stuart Richards told LFF that the second formal bid represented a “huge step forward” in the workers’ struggle against union-busting and unionising the workplace.

“Workers at Amazon Coventry have made another huge step forward in building a unionised workplace. They’ve tackled their bosses’ desperate attempts to stop workers organising head on,” Richards said.

“Inside the warehouse there are now elected GMB Union reps leading over half the workforce.”

Workers at the Amazon Coventry warehouse will walkout later this month, along with workers at the newly opened flagship Amazon HQ in Birmingham.

GMB organiser Rachel Fagan said union membership at Amazon had “exploded” with more and more workers joining in their bid for £15 an hour and union rights.

Fagan said: “Amazon bosses may have hoped this campaign would fade away, but instead union membership at Amazon has exploded as more and more workers are standing up to demand Amazon listens.”

Amazon has previously stated that it respected employees’ rights to join or not join a union and that the company’s minimum starting pay has risen by 20% over the past two years.

Whilst workers have slammed ‘insulting’ pay rises from the company, and highlighted the grueling working conditions and insubstantial pay leaving employees struggled to cope with the cost of living crisis.

In Coventry, workers will down tools on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 March, and in Birmingham strikes will take place on Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 March.

(Image: Channel 4 News / YouTube Screenshot)

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues