Week Ending; Union pressures on Co-op over Amazon & more

AS if The Co-op doesn’t have enough to deal with in reforming its governance, selling assets, paying down debt, investing in its stores…. it now finds itself embroiled in a row between a major trade union and online retail superpower Amazon.

In a nutshell the GMB union is kicking up a stink because Amazon won’t recognise it, and claims its officials are forced underground by the US group’s refusal to engage.

It has launched a campaign, which it is vowing to ramp-up with Co-op rank and file members, to have Amazon Lockers – where customers can pick up parcels – removed from 160 Co-op stores.

The mutual has so far refused to bend to the will of the GMB, and the union wants to generate internal pressure on the retailer.

Martin Smith, GMB National Officer, explains: “We will intend take the issue to the wider membership of the Co-operative movement. Why it allows a competitor like Amazon floor space is hard to understand as Co-operative has a real cuckoo in the ethical nest.

“Freedom of association is one of the key freedoms in a democracy. Co-operative members should not be associated with Amazon while they deny their staff the freedom to combine and be collectively represented by GMB.

“Co-operative members need to know that union activity in the Amazon depots in UK has to be kept underground for fear of reprisals. So hostile are Amazon that union organisation is driven underground adopting the tactics of the French resistance or human rights campaigns in totalitarian regimes.”

Only time will tell if the union will win the fight, either for recognition by Amazon or with the Co-op, though one suspects the chance of success are weaker with the former than the latter.

One thing’s sure though, and that the timing of this spat is not ideal for the Co-op, but it’s survived worse of late…..

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In media land, while ‘normal’ people go on holiday during the summer, not very much usually happens.

This time of year is thus known as the Silly Season – whereby weak, quirky, or just plain daft news items are catapulted up the agenda.

Sometimes this can pay off. On a busy week for business news, the opening of a shop by a former footballer’s wife, would not feature prominently.

However, when a release arrived this week, enlivened by a somewhat racy image of Win Naturally founder Julie Neville (wife of ex-United and England player Phil) posing naked, it was too good an opportunity to scorn.

The article duly appeared, and despite not the hardest-hitting news of the week, it was the best read of the month so far.

Be assured though, that TheBusinessDesk is committed to serious business news and is not about to ‘go tabloid’ and start publishing multiple pictures of attractive women just to get hits……. Having said that, this tactic has not exactly damaged Daily Mail website, which is now the best read on the planet.