Amazon recently announced that it had increased the minimum starting pay to over £28,000 per year for frontline operations employees across the UK, worth nearly 10% for employees.
The move came after narrowly defeating a bid from the GMB trade union, pushing for a recognition ballot in order to fight for a pay increase and improved conditions at key a facility in Coventry.
49.5% of workers voted in for GMB, just under the 50.5% who voted against it, missing the vote for the trade union by a hairline. Had it won, it would have become the first recognised trade union by Amazon.
Recently, around 14,000 UK Amazon workers with GMB went of strike for nearly 40 days of strike action to push for £15 per hour and union recognition as part of a long-running dispute.
According to Amazon, it placed “enormous value on engaging directly” with its workers And added, “We look forward to continuing on that path with our team in Coventry”.
This is too little, too late from Amazon bosses
Over the past 18 months, workers in Coventry have staged multiple strikes, calling for a minimum wage of £15 per hour and the ability to negotiate directly with management.
Last November, their cause gained international support when trade unionists from Europe and the US, facing similar issues in their own countries, joined them on the picket line.
Amazon announcement
Last week, Amazon announced the following:
“The wage increase of 9.8% or higher will benefit tens of thousands of frontline operations employees across the UK.
“Amazon has today announced that the minimum starting pay for frontline operations employees will rise to between £13.50 and £14.50 p/h, depending on location. For those with 36 months of service, the increase will be between £13.75 and £14.75p/h.”
GMB trade union response
Rachel Fagan, GMB Organiser has responded :
“This is too little, too late from Amazon bosses who have been forced to act by worker’s industrial action.
“Amazon’s reputation is in the gutter over its treatment of its own workers, and now company bosses are trying to plaster over the facts.
“Unsafe working conditions, low pay and excessive surveillance blight the lives of Amazon workers every single day”.
Changes From Amazon
The online retailer announced that the pay increase will raise minimum wage rates by 9.8%, resulting in hourly wages of between £13.50 and £14.50, depending on the location. Employees with at least three years of service will earn a minimum of between £13.75 and £14.75 per hour.
Starting from September 29, this pay raise will benefit thousands of Amazon staff, including those working in the company’s UK fulfilment centres.
