UNITED KINGDOM: In the most recent labour issue involving the British employees of the US e-commerce giant, Amazon personnel at a warehouse in Coventry, central England, are prepared to walk out over pay, a union claimed on Friday.
Before a potential formal vote on whether to stage a strike, more than 300 workers participated in a consultative vote, in which 97% declared they were prepared to strike.
According to GMB Senior Organiser Amanda Gearing, Amazon staff are justifiably furious and preparing to strike. Despite the worst economic depression in a century, they are employed by a company worth more than a trillion pounds and earning a 35p hourly wage.
Amazon, which employs 70,000 people in the UK, announced that starting pay had increased to a minimum of 10.50-11.45 pounds ($12-$13) per hour, a 29% increase since 2018.
Additionally, employees are given a benefits package worth “thousands of pounds yearly,” according to a statement from an Amazon UK spokesman.
As skyrocketing inflation outpaces pay increases, rising living expenses have provoked a wave of industrial unrest across businesses in Britain.
Many Amazon workers at a warehouse in Tilbury, southeast England, staged a walkout last month in protest of a wage increase of 35 pence per hour, which was less than the 2-pound increase sought by the GMB.
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