Amazon depot staff begin first strike in UK over pay offer

AMAZON workers today started their first official UK strike action – walking out of the online retail giant’s Coventry warehouse in protest against its offer of a 50p pay rise.

About 300 workers were expected to down tools and join a 24-hour picket line. The strike action began at the West Midlands depot at midnight.

The GMB union called for a walk-out after balloting members in December. The union is demanding an increase in pay from £10 to £15 per hour. Amazon has offered 50p per hour.

Stuart Richards, a GMB union official for the Midlands, said: “This is a huge step forward for workers who’ve been ignored and treated like robots.”

Amazon said its pay offer represented a pay increase to between £10.50 and £11.45 per hour, depending on location.

An Amazon spokesman said: “According to the verified figures, only a fraction of 1pc of our UK employees voted in the ballot – and that includes those who voted against industrial action.”