For the First Time Hundreds of Amazon Workers Will Go On Formal Strike in the UK (cnbc.com) 23
CNBC reports:
Hundreds of Amazon workers will go on strike, Britain's GMB union said Friday, marking a first for the company's employees in the U.K. Employees at Amazon's Coventry warehouse in central England voted Friday to go on strike, with the walkout likely to happen in January 2023. Roughly 1,000 people work at the Coventry facility.
The workers are unhappy with a pay increase of 3%, or 50 pence per hour, Amazon introduced in the summer, which they say fails to match the rising cost of living. They want Amazon to pay a minimum of £15 an hour [roughly $18.22 USD].... Around 98% of the workers who turned out to vote opted to go on strike on a turnout of more than 63%.
In an emailed statement to CNBC, an Amazon spokesperson said: "We appreciate the great work our teams do throughout the year and we're proud to offer competitive pay which starts at a minimum of between £10.50 [$12.75] and £11.45 [$13.90] per hour, depending on location. This represents a 29 per cent increase in the minimum hourly wage paid to Amazon employees since 2018."
Amazon also cited benefits they offer, adding "On top of this, we're pleased to have announced that full-time, part-time and seasonal frontline employees will receive an additional one-time special payment of up to £500 [up to $670 USD] as an extra thank you."
GMB's senior organizer argues that "Amazon can afford to do better," writes CNBC. "It's not too late to avoid strike action; get round the table with GMB to improve the pay and conditions of workers."
The workers are unhappy with a pay increase of 3%, or 50 pence per hour, Amazon introduced in the summer, which they say fails to match the rising cost of living. They want Amazon to pay a minimum of £15 an hour [roughly $18.22 USD].... Around 98% of the workers who turned out to vote opted to go on strike on a turnout of more than 63%.
In an emailed statement to CNBC, an Amazon spokesperson said: "We appreciate the great work our teams do throughout the year and we're proud to offer competitive pay which starts at a minimum of between £10.50 [$12.75] and £11.45 [$13.90] per hour, depending on location. This represents a 29 per cent increase in the minimum hourly wage paid to Amazon employees since 2018."
Amazon also cited benefits they offer, adding "On top of this, we're pleased to have announced that full-time, part-time and seasonal frontline employees will receive an additional one-time special payment of up to £500 [up to $670 USD] as an extra thank you."
GMB's senior organizer argues that "Amazon can afford to do better," writes CNBC. "It's not too late to avoid strike action; get round the table with GMB to improve the pay and conditions of workers."
Amazon won't care because the public with them (Score:5, Insightful)
Here is the upcoming sequence of events
- Amazon workers at this fulfillment center will go on strike
- Amazon will simply start routing shipments due for this local area, from other fulfilment centers
- Amazon will communicate to their customers in the area with late packages that it is due to the strike and beyond their control
- The customers will be mad at the union, not Amazon.
More BIZX SEO + FUD. It's a paid promotion. (Score:1)
Notice how the SEO stories show up in pairs now. Someone is paying for this.
Re:Amazon won't care because the public with them (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed, if the public is behind ambulance drivers and nurses striking, Amazon workers are not going to be the thing that changes their minds.
We've already had multiple "I couldn't get to a funeral" stories over the rail strikes. They aren't working.
Re:Amazon won't care because the public with them (Score:4, Insightful)
The customers won't care why Amazon didn't deliver in time. The customers will only know that Amazon ruined Christmas.
Re: (Score:3)
This is the UK, where most of the population is in favor of the nurses going on strike even though it will inconvenience them. Same as the rail strikers, and border strikers. Same as ambulance drivers. Same as teachers.
Brexit has been a total failure, people are way worse off than before, and the Tory government, responsible for both Brexit and the disastrous min-budget that threatened to destroy pension plans and the currency, is completely out of touch.
The customers will be mad at the union, not Amazon.
Since when does anyone need an excuse to be mad a
What's going on in the UK (Score:4, Informative)
It seems UK is exploding in strikes lately. Polls suggests that the ruling Conservatives would be wiped out if there was an election tomorrow. But it's not as if strikers have a friend in Labour, who support using the army to break strikes in the NHS [novaramedia.com]. What's going on, and how do you see this going?
Re: (Score:3)
I guess the UK noticed something the US still seems to be struggling with: That neither side of The Party is actually working for them and they should just get rid of both of them and start over.
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This is what always happens with a Tory governments. They rob us blind while breaking the economy. When they run out of our money, they tell us it's a global problem and that we all have to do our bit. Can't have a big pay rise, that would cause inflation. Of course that doesn't apply to Tories and their donors.
The British people mostly vote to be poor. The blame for everything is put on scroungers, people slightly poorer than they are getting something for nothing.
Lately it's got even worse with the rise o
Context matters (Score:3)
29% increase sounds good if it weren't for the fact that 23% is inflation over that period (and before you say "BUT 2022!" note that historical inflation average is 5.2% yearly so the shitshow of 2022 balances the extraordinarily low inflation in previous years nicely). Oh and Amazon were paying poorly in 2018 as well offering workers barely 2GBP / hour over minimum wage while demanding some quite insane amount of effort for them.
And as for the spot bonus, every company is offering spot bonuses. Largely because they don't want to offer pay rises in line with inflation. $670USD? That's laughable compared to what many companies are paying out as a 2022-we're-sorry-you-can't-afford-your-gas-bill bonus. Our company offered a 10% across the board for everyone regardless if they are cleaning toilets or heading the R&D department. Amazon is offering ... wait for it ... a 3% one time bonus for someone earning 11GBP an hour working close to full time. Disgraceful.
Sidenote: I remember working as a factory hand as a kid, it was hard work, especially in the logistics department stacking boxes, palletising and fulfilling shipments to be loaded into a truck. I got paid 3x minimum wage, not 1.1x
Re: (Score:2)
I actually worked at a fulfilment centre about ten years ago, by no means an Amazon fanboy but...
- its not an insane amount of work
- at christmas, the headcount goes from something like 100 to 1000, then they get laid off in January. (people who topped 90% in their targets for the period often got offered full time at that point). So thats a bunch of agency workers who probably only joined in November voting to strike
- bonuses arent common in warehouses. its unskilled labour. every warehouse id worked in be
Re: (Score:2)
- its not an insane amount of work
Maybe you got lucky as your comment seems to be at odds with literally every discussion we hear about the topic. Those people who topped 90% targets, we heard about them, pissing into drink bottles because a toilet break will cost them their target dearly.
Amazon has double the industry average turnover rate, so while you may have enjoyed it, the data shows a great many people do not.
Re: (Score:1)
29% increase sounds good if it weren't for the fact that 23% is inflation over that period (and before you say "BUT 2022!" note that historical inflation average is 5.2% yearly so the shitshow of 2022 balances the extraordinarily low inflation in previous years nicely).
Obviously, the solution to 23% inflation is not to increase everyone's salary by 23%. That does not fix the underlying issue.
Like in Germany (Score:2)
Multiple times a year.
Nobody ever notices, it's a logistics company, running around strikes is their business.
Re: (Score:2)
Right before Christmas?
I kinda doubt that people won't notice. It's one of the few times when it kinda matters whether your package arrives before or after the weekend.
Re: (Score:2)
Right before Christmas?
I kinda doubt that people won't notice. It's one of the few times when it kinda matters whether your package arrives before or after the weekend.
Well, now you have an excuse to wait until Boxing Day sales ... oh wait - those started the week Black Friday Month ended.
Re: (Score:2)
"Right before Christmas?"
Yes.
People just get their stuff from warehouses in Austria, Poland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg or the Netherlands.