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LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Amazon staff at a warehouse in Coventry in central England have voted in favour of strike action over pay, a union said on Friday, in the latest labour dispute involving the U.S. e-commerce giant’s British workers.
More than 300 workers voted in a consultative ballot, with 97% saying they were ready to walk out, the GMB union said. It will now meet staff to discuss next steps including a possible formal vote on strike action.
“Amazon workers are rightly furious and they are ready to walk out,” GMB Senior Organiser Amanda Gearing said. “They’re being offered 35p an hour during the worst cost of living crisis in a generation – and that’s from a company worth more than 1 trillion (pounds).”
Rising costs of living have sparked a wave of industrial unrest across industries in Britain as soaring inflation outpaces pay rises.
Hundreds of Amazon workers at a warehouse in Tilbury in southeast England walked out in protest over pay last month, over a 35 pence per hour pay increase, less than the 2-pound rise sought by the GMB.
Amazon, which has 70,000 workers in the UK, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James)
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