The GMB union is planning to bring a bigger fight to Amazon as it looks to recruit workers from the retailer’s key regions to join strikes.
A GMB organiser told Retail Week that the union is “talking with colleagues in the North East, London, Wales and South West regions” to assist workers in these areas to move towards running ballots for industrial action.
“It’s early days but we’ve had some workers travel to meet reps from Coventry and there seems to be interest, but we want to make sure that they want to go forward,” the source told Retail Week.
So far, strike action has only taken place at the Coventry fulfilment centre, which an Amazon spokesperson recently referred to as a “small number of workers” making noise.
The number of members at the Coventry, West Midlands, site has now risen to 1,000. The GMB organiser said the union is also “talking to a number of members at three other sites within the Midlands specifically” where they will consider running ballots if there is enough engagement from workers.
“We think it’s likely that ballots will happen,” they added.
While the strikes have been limited to just the Coventry fulfilment centre over recent months, another centre in the Midlands is also set to strike for the first time.
The GMB organiser confirmed that the next set of strikes will happen on August 3 and 4 at Rugeley, Staffordshire, while workers at Coventry will walk out on August 4 and 5.
In response to the upcoming strikes, an Amazon spokesperson said: “We regularly review our pay to ensure we offer competitive wages and benefits. In less than a year, our minimum pay has risen by 10% and by more than 37% since 2018.
“We also work hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities.
“These are just some of the reasons people want to come and work at Amazon, whether it’s their first job, a seasonal role or an opportunity for them to advance their career.”
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