workers of Amazon In a warehouse in the center of England, they have started a strike this Wednesday to demand better wages first time That the US technology company operating in Great Britain is facing such a situation.
stuart richardsThe GMB union told Reuters that rising inflation had prompted its members to take industrial action and that 300 of the GMB’s 350-member staff at the Coventry headquarters were expected to call off the strike.
“These workers have to work incredibly long shifts Just to try to make ends meet, just to try to feed their families. We have to be better than that,” he lamented.
For its part, Amazon claims that Of its 2,000 employees, only 178 He voted in favor of the strike in the godown.
The strike is the latest in Britain, which is facing its worst industrial unrest since Margaret Thatcher She was prime minister, with workers in key sectors such as health workers or transporters organizing strikes in the fight for better pay.
Amazon, which Employs 75,000 people across the UKStarting wages were raised 50 pence last year to a minimum of between £10.50 and £11.45 ($12.95 to $14.12) an hour, compared with the UK minimum wage, which will rise to £10.42 in April.
Darren Westwood, who has worked at the Coventry headquarters for three and a half years, tells Reuters the last increment was not enoughBecause wage growth has outpaced inflation, which at one point last year hit a 41-year high of 11.1%.
,none of us want to strike, We’d all rather stay indoors in the heat than drink tea in the cold, but now it’s gotten to the point where the cost of living has gone insane.”
An Amazon spokesperson told the company Already offers competitive pay and comprehensive benefits, When asked whether they officially recognized the union’s role in wage negotiations, the spokesman said: “It is best for our employees to have a direct relationship with the company. Our employees have the right to decide whether or not to join a union.” There is a choice to be made. We’ve always done that.”
