This week’s strike at an Amazon depot in Coventry is throwing the spotlight on to a hidden army of workers in the UK’s retail sector, many of whom face “particularly gruelling” conditions, according to recent research commissioned by the TUC, reports Heather Stewart.įive academics at the Centre for Research on Employment and Work (Crew) at the University of Greenwich analysed data about the retail workforce during and after the Covid pandemic, and carried out in-depth interviews with 30 workers. 12.24 GMT ‘The job is not human’: UK retail warehouse staff describe gruelling work She added that the 50p pay rise, “made them very angry, and they’re not a militant bunch”. Because this isn’t us, as the GMB, this is workers – they want more pay,” she said. Amazon are being stubborn about this, they don’t want these workers to organise a union, but I think at some point they’re going to have to get round the table. “They are making an impact, and I think that their voices are really being heard. Local GMB organiser Amanda Gearing, just about to grab some sleep after a long stint around the brazier, said “about 70” Amazon workers walked off their shift at midnight, welcomed by colleagues outside. One worker emerged to say that managers were manning the packing lines.
The GMB said that some lorries arriving at the site on Wednesday morning had refused to cross the picket line and turned around but others appeared to be coming and going as usual. They are afraid of losing their job,” he says. “Most of the other people – at least 70-80% – they don’t even understand English and they don’t understand the law. In total, fewer than 200 staff voted to strike.īut one GMB member taking part stresses the difficulties of organising in this workplace, where any discussion of unions is frowned upon. The successful strike ballot in December was the second held, after a first go earlier in the year failed to breach the threshold of 50% of members needed to legitimise industrial action. GMB organisers freely admit the small proportion of staff at the site that have been able to sign up as members – around 300, of perhaps 1400. More from Heather Stewart reporting from the Coventry depot: “We appreciate the great work our teams do throughout the year,” they said, stressing the firm’s “competitive” pay rates of £10.50-£11.45 an hour.
#AMAZON STRIKE INFO FULL#
Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.Īny changes made can be done at any time and will become effective at the end of the trial period, allowing you to retain full access for 4 weeks, even if you downgrade or cancel.As reported earlier, a spokesperson for Amazon stressed the “tiny proportion,” of the firm’s UK workforce involved in Wednesday’s action, insisting that operations at BHX4 were continuing as usual. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial.
If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for $69 per month.įor cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here.Ĭhange the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well as 15 curated newsletters covering key business themes with original, in-depth reporting. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages.
0 kommentar(er)
