Home » UK Employment news » Amazon workers in Coventry vote for extended strikes

Amazon workers in Coventry vote for extended strikes

By Nagasunder in UK Employment news, posted June 15, 2023

Amazon workers in Coventry have voted to continue their industrial action for an additional six months, as the largest walkout in the ongoing dispute took place.

Nearly 800 employees from the Coventry Amazon facility went on strike, with nearly 500 joining the picket line on the 19th day of industrial action.

An overwhelming 99 percent of workers voted in favor of extending the strike, and a group of Coventry workers also visited Parliament to meet with Members of Parliament.

During a hearing on human rights at work by the Human Rights Joint Committee, GMB senior organizer Amanda Gearing provided evidence of the struggles faced by Amazon workers.

Gearing said: “The vote for six more months of strike action at Amazon Coventry shows these workers are in for the long haul.

"Almost 500 people on the picket line are incredible.”

Gearing said: “Amazon call to pull all the dirty tricks it wants; hiring extra staff to deny workers their right to a voice in the workplace is an obstacle, but it is not unsurmountable.

“These workers are angry, they know their rights and they will not go away.”

Amazon workers in Coventry recently withdrew the bid for formal union recognition and accused the company of playing “dirty tricks”.

In April, warehouse workers submitted a formal request to the independent central arbitration committee (CAC) after a series of strikes regarding pay disputes.

GMB membership had reached 800, believed to represent over half of the warehouse staff, the usual threshold for statutory union recognition in a workplace.

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However, after the union officially applied to the CAC, Amazon claimed to have 2,700 workers, alleging that the company had hired up to 1,000 new employees since the start of the strike action.