A worker at the Amazon Bristol Fulfilment Centre explains how the action happened
Thursday 4 August
My GMB union organiser phoned me with news that workers in the Amazon ‘Fulfilment Centre’ (FC) in Tilbury, Essex, had walked out!
This was unheard of at Amazon in the UK. I switched on my laptop. Sure enough, after putting up with endless rule changes recently – undoing the Covid changes, including losing ten minutes a day off our breaks, then no Christmas bonus – the straw that broke the camel’s back was the derisory 35p-an-hour pay increases announced on Wednesday 3 August for workers at many Amazon locations in the south of the UK.
Walkouts start on the Wednesday at Tilbury, then by Thursday walkouts are happening at Rugeley, Coventry, Coalville and my FC, Bristol.
Friday 5 August
Private Facebook and Telegram groups have sprung up across the country linking thousands of Amazon workers across dozens of sites.
The mainstream media are also picking up the story. At Tilbury, management said they would talk to Seattle (Amazon HQ) and come back with an answer by Wednesday 10 August.
Workers at Mansfield report that management had allegedly staged a fire alarm to stop the sit-in happening! GMB also report protests at Dartford, Belvedere, Hemel Hempstead and Chesterfield.
Sunday 7 August
Another walkout and sit-in held at Coventry.
Monday 8 August
During a sit-in at Swindon, a senior operations manager is caught on video saying to workers: “Trying to talk with you is like talking with animals.” At Coventry, GMB submit a 15% pay claim to management. The letter is shared widely and liked by hundreds of workers on Facebook.
Tuesday 9 August
Amazon protests feature on BBC Breakfast. Reports in several places of workers planning more action this week if Amazon don’t move on the pay increase. During the day, reports come in of briefings where management say that they are sticking to the original pay rises of 35p, or 50p for lower-paid workers.
Wednesday 10 August
GMB and Bristol Trades Council hand out over 300 leaflets to workers at Amazon in Bristol. GMB also hold a gate meeting of workers in Swindon. GMB submits a 15% pay claim for Amazon workers nationally. Some further protests, but also frustration at Amazon’s intransigence, and some fear after threats from management.
Thursday 11 August
In the early hours of the morning, Bristol nightshift workers have another sit-in in the canteen. This time management send hapless members of the ‘Associate Forum’ to push the management propaganda!
GMB officials and activists are back at Bristol later in the morning. Amazon has now built a fence round the car park with 24-hour security to keep union activists away from the building! GMB still gets a good response from workers in their cars.
‘Let’s get organised!’
The anger that Amazon workers feel about the way we are treated generally, and the totally insufficient pay rise we are offered, is still at boiling point. Workers are learning fast that it is going to take more organisation and coordination across the country, and the help of established trade unions, for us to exert the required pressure on Amazon for us to win. All across Facebook and Telegram the call is going out: Join a union and let’s get organised!
Socialist Party members visited Amazon warehouses around the country
Tilbury
We stood with ‘John Doe’ outside the Amazon ‘Fulfilment Centre’ in Tilbury, Essex, the day after the first dramatic work stoppage. According to John, the company promised to come back to answer concerns in a week’s time. Of course the major concern is very simple: the staff have demanded £2 an hour increase.
Dave Murray, Eastern region Socialist Party
Rugeley
The morning after Amazon’s Rugeley FC was hit by the national wave of walkouts, Socialist Party members were at the gate speaking to workers. They told us about how Amazon’s notorious performance targets are being ramped up to the extent that even longstanding employees are being placed under warning for taking the same number of breaks they have for years!
Nick Hart, Birmingham Socialist Party
Bromley-by-Bow
There was one student arriving for her 9am shift who said: “I don’t blame them”. She told us she had taken up a fixed-term contract with Amazon to make ends meet while studying at college. We also spoke to a newly qualified teacher in the NEU who was likewise working at Amazon during the summer holidays to make ends meet.
A manager came out and told us he would “have a stern word” with the warehouse workers and inform them that they didn’t have to speak to us if they didn’t want to. But a number of workers stopped to chat, with many telling us they want to strike too. We asked the security guards how they were managing with the cost-of-living crisis. One replied: “Struggling, like everyone else”.
Adam Powell-Davies, East London Socialist Party
Brimsdown, north London
One driver explained that he had to initially pay £250 a week for the van he uses for Amazon deliveries. He also complained about the absence of toilet facilities for drivers. Another helps his friend everyday with deliveries – it’s impossible to meet Amazon’s targets otherwise. Another driver summed up the anger. He told us that when his manager offered him a ‘generous’ £1,000-a-year pay rise, he responded by saying: “That’s £20 a week. Stick it up your arse”.
Ian Pattison, Enfield and Lea Valley Socialist Party
