Amazon workers in the UK are set for further industrial action after the online giant’s latest minimum pay rise for warehouse workers, of 50p an hour, was described as ‘insulting’.
The news comes days after the company announced 9,000 new job cuts, in addition to the 18,000 axed posts it announced in January.
Amazon said this week it was increasing the minimum starting salary of its UK workforce by at least 50p to between £11 and £12 an hour from April, putting it above the minimum wage for people aged over 23, which is rising to £10.42 from April. The company’s employees, however, are pushing for a minimum of £15 an hour.
The increase comes in the wake of strikes by Amazon warehouse staff in Coventry, with GMB members in the West Midlands calling for at least £15 an hour. In the most recent strike, on 17 March at the West Midlands fulfilment centre, about 450 staff walked out.
Amazon strikes
Senior organiser for the GMB union Amanda Gearing said: “We’re listening to Amazon workers and the message is very clear: this new pay rate is an insult.”
“So, in response, we will be consulting over the next few days and announcing a new wave of action.”
The GMB union now has more than 500 members at the Coventry site – up from a few dozen last year.
Striking worker Darren Westwood wrote for the Guardian: “The company describes the offer as ‘competitive pay’, pointing out that we get employee benefits on top of the hourly wage. Yet the company is making millions – if not billions – for the people at the top.”
He claimed that as Amazon emerged from the worst of the Covid pandemic, it could have given every one of its workers across the world a £43,000 bonus out of the increase in profits, with executive chairman Jeff Bezos still receiving more money than he had done pre-pandemic.
Amazon said: “We regularly review our pay to ensure we offer competitive wages, and we’re pleased to be announcing another increase for our UK operations teams.”
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
The retail giant, which has more than 30 warehouses in the UK, added that workers’ pay had risen by 37% since 2018 and it also “worked hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities”.
Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today
Browse more human resources jobs
