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| GMB union accuses Amazon UK of 'dirty tricks' in recognition battle | GMB union accuses Amazon UK of 'dirty tricks' in recognition battle |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The GMB union has withdrawn its bid for recognition at Amazon's Coventry warehouse, accusing the shopping giant of "dirty tricks". | The GMB union has withdrawn its bid for recognition at Amazon's Coventry warehouse, accusing the shopping giant of "dirty tricks". |
| The union claimed it had surpassed the number of members needed to secure recognition at the site - but that Amazon had taken on 1,000 extra staff to scupper the bid. | The union claimed it had surpassed the number of members needed to secure recognition at the site - but that Amazon had taken on 1,000 extra staff to scupper the bid. |
| Amazon denied the accusation, saying it regularly recruited new staff. | Amazon denied the accusation, saying it regularly recruited new staff. |
| It came as workers at the warehouse announced three more days of strikes. | It came as workers at the warehouse announced three more days of strikes. |
| Staff will walk out from 12 to 14 June as part of a long-running dispute over pay. | Staff will walk out from 12 to 14 June as part of a long-running dispute over pay. |
| The GMB has been battling for the right to officially represent Amazon workers in Coventry for a decade. | The GMB has been battling for the right to officially represent Amazon workers in Coventry for a decade. |
| A successful bid would force Amazon to negotiate with workers over pay, holidays and sick pay. | A successful bid would force Amazon to negotiate with workers over pay, holidays and sick pay. |
| The union had estimated there were 1,300 staff at the Coventry site, with 800 of those members of GMB. | |
| This would have meant it met the threshold for statutory recognition. | |
| Amazon workers on brink of winning union victory | |
| Hundreds of Amazon workers walk out in pay dispute | |
| The union put this to Amazon but the online giant did not respond within 10 days, so the GMB took its case to the Central Arbitration Committee - a government body tasked with overseeing the regulation of UK labour law. | |
| However, according to the union, Amazon has been packing its warehouse with new staff, and so successfully argued to the committee that it had more than 2,000 employees at the site. | |
| This left the union with no choice but to withdraw its bid for recognition, as an unsuccessful bid would have meant it could not reapply for three years. | |
| A union spokesman said the warehouse currently has more staff than during Black Friday and at Christmas, and estimated these recruits will be costing the firm an extra £300,000 per week. | |
| Stuart Richards, GMB senior organiser, said: "It's dirty tricks, plain and simple." | |
| He said members would not "give up the fight for union recognition" and added: "We're not going away." | |
| Amazon denied it had packed the warehouse with new recruits as an anti-union measure, saying it regularly hired new team members "across the country and across the year, to meet customer demand". | |
| It also said it offered "competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, opportunities for career growth, all while working in a safe, modern, work environment". | |
| It said workers could "communicate directly with the leadership of the company" if they had grievances. | |
| Workers at the site staged the first strike at Amazon's operations in Britain in January, and followed it up with walkouts in February, March and April. | |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Companies | Companies |
| Amazon | Amazon |
| GMB | GMB |
| Coventry | Coventry |