GMB, the union for Amazon workers, is staging Black Friday protests across the UK in anger at the ‘inhuman conditions’ people work under at the company’s warehouses.
Hundreds are expected to demonstrate at five Amazon warehouses across the country on Friday November 23, 2018, as follows:
- Amazon Rugeley – from 5pm at Tower business park, Power Station Rd, Rugeley, WS15 1LX
- Amazon Milton Keynes – at 6:30am and 11:30am, at Marston Gate Distribution Centre, Badgers Rise, Ridgmont MK43 0ZA
- Amazon Warrington – from 5:30pm at 1 Orion Blvd, Great Sankey, Warrington WA5 3XA
- Amazon Peterborough – from 5:30am at Unit 1, Kingston Park, Flaxley Rd, Peterborough PE2 9EN
- Amazon Swansea – at 7:30am and 6pm at Ffordd Amazon, Skewen, Swansea, SA1 8QX
Amazon workers in Italy and Spain will strike for 24 hours on the same day.
An investigation by GMB earlier this year revealed ambulances were called out to Amazon warehouses 600 times during the past three financial years.
A statement from Amazon this evening said “Amazon has created in the UK more than 25,000 good jobs with a minimum of £9.50/hour and in the London area, £10.50/hour on top of industry-leading benefits and skills training opportunities.
All of our sites are safe places to work and reports to the contrary are simply wrong. According to the UK Government’s Health and Safety Executive, Amazon has over 40% fewer injuries on average than other transportation and warehousing companies in the UK. We encourage everyone to compare our pay, benefits, and working conditions to others and come see for yourself on one of the public tours we offer every day at our centers across the UK uk.amazonfctours.com.”
Separate figures unearthed by GMB revealed a total of 602 reports have been made from Amazon warehouses to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Meanwhile GMB members working in Amazon warehouses report working in constant agony, not having time to go to the toilet and a heavily pregnant woman being forced to work standing.
