They added: “In addition to this competitive pay, employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package that includes private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, subsidised meals and an employee discount among others, which combined are worth thousands annually, as well as a company pension plan. The GMB, which has members at Tilbury and elsewhere but is not involved in coordinating the action and is not recognised by Amazon, said workers are seeking a £2 per hour pay bump because of surging inflation.Ī source at the union said there is a "decent chance" of further strikes, and added: “This is the most coordinated activity that we’ve seen for a while."Ĭampaigners will be hoping to recreate a victory at one of Amazon’s sites in Staten Island, New York, where staff managed to successfully form a union despite fierce opposition from the company.Īmazon, which records workers' actions using hand-held scanners as they carry out ten-hour shifts, uses aggressive anti-union tactics in the US including holding mandatory meetings where workers are encouraged to oppose unionisation.Īn Amazon spokesman said that starting pay for its employees will be increasing to a minimum of between £10.50 and £11.45 per hour, depending on location - significantly above the minimum wage of £9.50 an hour. The business refused to comment on whether deliveries would be disrupted as a result. There were other strikes at facilities in Bristol and Dartford, Kent. Up to 1,500 staff gathered in the canteen at the US behemoth's site in Tilbury, Essex last Wednesday to protest against a proposed pay rise of 35p an hour.
“I’m calling out to New York, to the Department of Labor, to the Fire Department, to make sure workers have safety when they go into work.Amazon workers are preparing to unleash a wave of strikes at its British warehouses in coming days as a row over pay and conditions escalates.Ī string of walkouts last week are expected to be followed by further action as frustration boils over at the cost of living crisis according to the GMB union, which has sought the right to officially represent Amazon staff. “Nobody else in New York would tolerate this,” he said. Goldstein said the warehouse needs to be investigated for safety concerns by the city of New York and by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The JFK8 fulfillment center made headlines earlier this year for becoming the first Amazon location to organize. “One of the reasons people are unionizing at Amazon is because the employer cares about profits, and doesn’t care about their lives. HUNDREDS of striking Amazon warehouse workers are furious after being told by their boss that they will not get the hoped-for pay rise. “God forbid they have to replace and lose their profits,” Goldstein said. Amazon did not respond to comment on this point. Goldstein was told Amazon had poured water on the compactor to stop the smoke. Seth Goldstein, a lawyer for the Amazon Labor Union, said that the compactor in question had been causing problems and smoking for weeks before Monday, according to employees in the warehouse.
AMAZON STRIKE PLUS
Sign up for Motherboard’s daily newsletter for a regular dose of our original reporting, plus behind-the-scenes content about our biggest stories. While the vast majority of employees reported to their workstations, a small group refused to return to work and remained in the building without permission." The FDNY certified the building is safe and at that point we asked all night shift employees to report to their regularly scheduled shift. “All employees were safely evacuated, and day shift employees were sent home with pay.
"Yesterday afternoon there was a small fire in a cardboard compactor outside of JFK8, one of our facilities in Staten Island, New York,” an Amazon spokesperson wrote. The fire department reported no damage to the building and no injuries. Both the New York Fire Department and Amazon confirmed the fire to Motherboard.
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