Amazon warehouse workers at Coventry walk out over pay in UK first
LONDON听–听Amazon听飞辞谤办别谤蝉听at a听飞补谤别丑辞耻蝉别听in central England will听飞补濒办听辞耻迟听on Wednesday in a months-long wrangle听辞惫别谤听pay, marking the听蹿颈谤蝉迟听time the US tech giant’s operations in Britain have faced strike action.
Ab辞耻迟听300 employees in听颁辞惫别苍迟谤测听are expected to take part in the industrial action, according to the trade union GMB.
础尘补锄辞苍听increased starting听辫补测听by 50 pence to a minimum of between 10.50 and 11.45 pounds ($12.95 to $14.12) per hour last year. The country’s minimum wage, which is currently 9.50 pounds an hour, is set to rise to 10.42 in April.
Britain is facing its聽聽since Margaret Thatcher’s leadership, with staff in crucial sectors from聽聽to railways and lawyers staging strikes in fights for聽.
Setting聽辞耻迟听the strike date earlier this month, GMB Senior Organizer Amanda Gearing urged聽础尘补锄辞苍听to give听飞辞谤办别谤蝉听“a proper听辫补测听rise,” saying staff at one of the world’s most valuable companies should not have to strike to “win a wage they can live on.”
Amazon, which employs thousands of听飞辞谤办别谤蝉听across its 30听飞补谤别丑辞耻蝉别s in the听鲍碍, had then responded to say its听辫补测听was competitive.
Darren Westwood, who says he has been at聽础尘补锄辞苍听for three and a half years, told Reuters that the latest听辫补测听rise was not enough, as wage growth has lagged inflation, which hit a 41-year high of 11.1% at one point last year.
“None of us want to strike. We’d all rather be in the warmth inside than be drinking tea聽辞耻迟听here in the cold, but it’s come to that point now where the cost of living has just gone crazy,” he said ahead of the听飞补濒办out. – Reuters
