Trade union GMB has accused Amazon of playing “dirty tricks” after it was forced to withdraw its bid for recognition.
The union has claimed the ecommerce giant has gone on a “massive recruitment drive” following the request for recognition and alleged that company was paying an additional 1,300 workers “to try to bust the union”.
“Amazon has refused to pay workers a decent wage, but are now paying an additional 1,300 workers to try and bust the union,” GMB senior organiser Stuart Richards said.
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“We estimate that’s more than £300,000 a week – just to stop workers from having a voice in their workplace. This is more than it would cost to pay the original workforce the £15 an hour they were asking for.
“It’s dirty tricks, plain and simple.”
GMB launched a bid for union recognition in April when the number of striking workers at Amazon Coventry increased to 800, believing a bid for statutory recognition could be made as the figure was over half the warehouse’s workforce.
Richards added: “Earlier this year, in one of the busiest periods for retail, Amazon told people there were around 1,400 workers in Coventry.
“After GMB submitted a request for recognition, Amazon went on a massive recruitment drive. They now claim to have more than 2,700 workers at the site.
“GMB believes this was purely in response to GMB membership growing so close to the threshold for statutory union recognition.”
