Amazon strike: First official strike on UK soil begins today | Business news

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Darren Westwood knows how to hold his own.

As a child, he was bullied on the playground and beaten in the middle of his local town. Now he does not take the baton from anyone, no matter how big or powerful he is, even if it is one of the largest corporations in the world.

Westwood believes his employer, Amazon, is a bully.

Slowly growing weary of the wages and working conditions at the company’s Coventry warehouse — where workers are on their feet all day sorting goods for dispatch to other warehouses — he has been mobilizing colleagues to support the strike.

After some initial hesitation, he has gradually won them over, and nearly 300 workers are set to leave today – the first official strike on British soil for the online giant.

“I don’t feel overwhelmed by things,” said the 57-year-old.

“During the pandemic, people were thanking us and we appreciated it, but Amazon was still making money, while we feel like we’ve been left behind.”

“The money is there. I know people say it’s the politics of envy, but we don’t ask for it.” [Jeff Bezos’] The yacht or its rocket. We just wouldn’t be able to pay our way. And that’s all we ask.”

Unions have traditionally had difficulty cracking Amazon, but the mood among the company’s workforce changed in August after it offered its workers what many saw as a small pay rise. The internet giant has raised the hourly wage by 50p to £10.50 an hour.

Upon hearing the news, the workers organized an unofficial strike. They were expecting more, especially since the company has enjoyed stellar profits in recent years and inflation is rising at its fastest pace in 40 years.

GMB seized the opportunity and helped organize a strike, in which workers voted in favor of the official action just before Christmas.

However, it is not just about money. Amazon has long been criticized for using strict productivity targets that require workers to sort a set number of items per hour.

Failure to do so can result in ‘conditioning’, which is a kind of warning. Employees are given up to 30 minutes of rest per day, of which only one is paid.

“When you think you have to queue until the time is up and then queue to go through metal detectors and security, and wait to get your food, that time evaporates far too quickly,” Mr. Westwood said. “I’ve been a minute late coming back from a break before and I’ve adapted.”

The loss of up to 300 of its 1,400 workforce in Coventry is unlikely to cause any major operational problems for Amazon, but management will be watching developments closely. All over the world, the workforce is beginning to agitate. In the US, workers in a New York warehouse recently voted to start the company’s first labor union.

The GMB union is demanding that Amazon pay its UK workers £15 an hour to bring their wages in line with their US counterparts, who earn $18 an hour. However, Westwood agreed that it might take much less than that to settle the dispute.

Photo: Amazon warehouse in Coventry where workers strike

£2 an extra hour would be acceptable.

“I would be happy if they raised it by £2,” he said. “I think £2 an hour extra or £2.50 an hour extra would be acceptable. I think everybody would stop then and people would be happy.”

The company told Sky News it pays a competitive local wage which has risen by 29% since 2018.

A company spokesperson added: “We appreciate the fantastic work our teams do throughout the year and are proud to offer competitive pay from at least £10.50 to £11.45 per hour, depending on location.

“Employees also receive comprehensive benefits worth thousands more—including private medical insurance, life insurance, subsidized meals, and an employee discount, just to name a few.”

However, the workers accuse her of cutting off other benefits in the process. More importantly, the 5% wage increase it gave its employees amounts to a pay cut in real terms because inflation, which peaked at more than 11% last year, has risen at more than twice the pace.

Westwood noted that the company had raised the cost of its services to reflect higher rates of inflation, while neglecting to share the spoils fairly with its workforce.

A similar story is playing out across the economy, especially in the public sector, where industrial relations are disintegrating under the pressure of rampant inflation. Nurses, ambulance drivers, railroad workers, teachers, and postal workers all voted to drop their tools and march.

“I can’t sleep some nights”

Like some Amazon employees, many have been repeatedly reminded of their value during the pandemic, when they went off to work while others stayed home.

“These are good people,” Westwood said. “I know some people think we’re unskilled and that’s the minimum wage for ‘minimum jobs’. But you need us during a pandemic. You clap for us and paint rainbows in the street. We’re the same people.”

“It’s 10 hours a day, I’m on your feet. I’m 18,000 steps and it affects people. I had an injury to my shoulder. Some days it hurts too much. Some nights I can’t sleep, it just keeps me awake. And that’s from the repetitive strain of doing the same thing.” job over and over again.”

While Westwood hopes both sides can reach an agreement, he believes the main gain will be increased unionization within Amazon’s workforce to ensure workers continue to hold their own.

He agrees that working at Amazon comes with benefits and that a lot of people enjoy their time there but he thinks the company has a long way to go.

“Colleagues are struggling to pay their bills,” he said. “But we work with one of the richest men in the world, in one of the richest companies in the world, in one of the richest countries in the world… It’s not fair.”

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