UK Amazon workers announce July strike during Prime Day sales event - how will walkout impact shoppers?

Hundreds of Amazon workers at a UK warehouse will stage a three-day strike this week over a pay dispute, the GMB union confirmed on Saturday (July 8). The walkout, which involves nearly 900 employees, will take place from July 11 to July 13 at Amazon’s warehouse in Coventry, coinciding with the ‘Prime Day’ sales event in the same week.

In a statement sent to Reuters, GMB Senior Organiser Rachel Fagan said: “GMB members in Coventry have time and time again shown that this fight will only end with £15 an hour and union rights."

Amazon, the world’s largest online marketplace, said that the minimum starting pay for its employees is between £11-12 per hour, depending on the location. In June, the union members located at the Coventry warehouse voted for six months of strikes beginning June 12 to 14.

Amazon is expected to record about £5.5bn in revenue from its Prime Day sales, which run from July 11 to 12. The projection is an increase of 12% for  last year’s sale event, according to JPMorgan.

Amazon have said they don’t expect strikes to have any impact on Prime Day deliveries as the Coventry warehouse only receives goods from suppliers and distributes them to other Amazon facilities.

Public sector workers have also been striking in recent months, including nurses, junior doctors, consultants, teachers and transportation workers in a pay dispute with the government amid inflationary pressures.