Union takes legal action against Amazon over alleged anti-union practices
The GMB Union has launched legal proceedings against retail giant Amazon, accusing the company of pressuring its workers to relinquish their collective rights.
The union’s legal action, known as an Inducement Claim, claims that Amazon has engaged in various tactics to coerce its staff into cancelling their trade union memberships.
But the retail giant says it has received no notification of legal action and believes there is no merit in such a case. It says it has advised staff on how to cancel their union membership as workers had said the process is “difficult”.
Amazon has been accused of pushing employees to quit the union by putting up QR codes in its fulfilment centres.
It has been said that these codes prompt workers to email the union to cancel their membership, making workers attend lengthy anti-union meetings led by top managers during work hours.
These meetings also force employees to hear and see anti-union messages in Amazon workplaces on billboards and screens. The union is also claiming there has been bullying and intimidation of union representatives among Amazon staff.
Amanda Gearing, GMB Senior Organiser, said: “This is a company out of control. Amazon is a multi-billion-pound corporation, doing everything in its power to stop minimum-wage workers from forming a union.
“Their latest American-style anti-union campaign proves they will stop at nothing to beat the rules that every other employer in the UK is expected to follow. It’s desperate measures and goes someway to show why Amazon workers as so determined to win the union recognition they deserve”.
A statement from a spokesperson from Amazon said: “We agree that everyone has the right to choose to join a union and that everyone also has the right to leave a union if they choose. Our employees told us how difficult it was to cancel their union membership so we provided information to help, through signs that always state that it’s an employee’s personal choice. Additionally, it is made clear to employees that attendance at meetings is entirely their choice too. We have received no notification of legal action and do not believe there is any merit in such a case.”
