The first strike of Amazon workers in Great Britain is underway, protesting against the American online giant, demanding a wage increase and better employment conditions.
The unrest involving about 300 employees of the English sorting center in Coventry was called by the GMB union after it
rejected the offer of a 50p an hour increase
in the face of the high-living crisis in the UK as "derisory"
.
Some workers told the BBC about the conditions in which they operate inside the depot every day, saying they are
constantly monitored and reprimanded for "downtime"
even for a few minutes.
Two of them, members of Gmb, said that the robots in the center "are treated better".
While Amazon claims to have a system "that recognizes great performance" of employees and helps them improve their performance.
The trade union protest, although more aimed at internal problems at Jeff Bezos' giant, takes place in a
period of intense unrest
especially in the public sector and of heated clashes between the unions and the conservative government of Rishi Sunak over wage disputes concerning many categories.