Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN, ETR:AMZ) employees at the newly opened flagship fulfilment centre in Birmingham are gearing up for a strike in the new year, extending the industrial action in Coventry and Rugeley earlier in the year.
The GMB union anticipates industrial action to take place at the recently launched EMA4 site in Sutton Coldfield in 2024 and will disclose the specific dates in January.
Despite the Midlands fulfilment centre opening its doors in October 2023, some workers have already voted in favour of striking.
A source linked to Amazon told reporters that out of the 2,000-plus employees at Sutton Coldfield, only 34 are union members, and 19 have voted for strike action.
There's also a possibility of workers at the Coventry depot going on strike again, continuing a trend from the past year.
A GMB spokesperson said it will have to re-ballot Coventry workers, a process expected to unfold throughout January.
“Company bosses are hoping they can bury their heads in the sand − but the truth is industrial relations at Amazon UK are in chaos,” Amanda Gearing, a GMB organiser, said after the Black Friday strikes last month.
At the time an Amazon spokesperson said: “By April 2024, our minimum starting pay will have increased to £12.30 and £13 per hour depending on location, that’s a 20% increase over two years and 50% since 2018.”