Amazon's UK 50p Per Hour Pay Boost Infuriates Union, Proposes New Course Of Action

• On Wednesday, Amazon.Com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) boosted the minimum starting pay for its employees at its U.K. operations by up to 50 pence to between 11 pounds ($13.50) - 12 pounds per hour.

• Amazon faced flak from its union, which had demanded a more considerable hike, Reuters reports.

• The pay boost comes less than a week after hundreds of workers at an Amazon warehouse in Coventry in central England staged the latest walkout in a dispute over pay this year.

• Also Read: Amazon Scores Another Victory In Preventing Unionization Efforts At US Warehouse

• "We're listening to Amazon workers and the message is very clear: this new pay rate is an insult," said Amanda Gearing, senior organizer of GMB, the union which represents more than 500 Amazon workers.

• The union had said the Amazon Coventry workers are demanding 15 pounds an hour to cope with a cost-of-living crisis that has sparked strikes across sectors in Britain. The union proposed to consult over the next few days and share a new wave of action.

• The pay boost, which will depend on locations and start in April, comes after Amazon raised U.K. hourly wages by 50 pence to 10.50 - 11.45 pounds per hour in 2022.

• Amazon in January disclosed plans to shut three warehouses in Hemel Hampstead, Doncaster, and Gourock in Britain this year, in a move that will affect 1,200 jobs, offering workers a chance to transfer to other units.

• Price Action: AMZN shares trade higher by 0.31% at $100.92 on the last check Wednesday.

• Photo via Phillip Pessar via Flickr

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