Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) is facing its first formal strike ballot in the UK, with workers at a Coventry warehouse set to take action which the GMB union said is "making history".
The US online retail giant's 35p per hour pay offer has sparked anger among hundreds of workers at the warehouse who will now begin voting on whether to walk out. Voting begins today and will run until October 19, 2022.
Workers across the UK already have staged informal protests in response to Amazon's 3% pay offer. Earlier this month, 300 GMB members participated in a consultation ballot, with 97% indicating they were ready to strike.
In August, Amazon employees at the Lyon's Park, Coventry warehouse held a two-day protest, and informal demonstrations were also held at Amazon sites in Swindon in Wiltshire and Tilbury in Essex.
Amazon has said its hourly rate was increased to £11.45, depending on location, with "comprehensive benefits" to staff. The retail giant said its pay offer, rising from £10.50, represented "a 29% increase in the minimum hourly wage paid to Amazon associates since 2018".
"These Amazon worker will be the first ever in the UK to take part in a formal strike ballot, they’re making history," said Amanda Gearing, GMB senior organiser in a statement.
"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. Understandably, they are furious. Amazon can afford to do better. It’s not too late to avoid strike action," she added.
In September 2021, Amazon revealed that it paid £492mln in tax in the previous year despite its UK revenues jumping to £20.6bn during the coronavirus pandemic.