On this Black Friday, workers at the Amazon distribution center in Coventry have decided to strike. About 1,000 staff have joined the strike which is in response to a pay dispute that they have with the company, where they’re represented by their union, GMB.
In response, Amazon has put out the usual statement saying how well it pays its staff, how wonderful the working conditions are, and how people have wonderful career opportunities at the company.
The wonderful working conditions at Amazon include having timed toilet breaks, staff members urinating in bottles where they work because they’re scared to take the time to go to the toilet, increased numbers of injuries at warehouses which use robot packers, and a high paced, high pressure work environment where staff are constantly monitored.
GMB official Amanda Gearing said: “Today will go down as a turning point in Amazon’s history.
“Working people who make Amazon’s business model possible stand up to demand their share of the company’s enormous wealth.
“Despite that, Amazon bosses are desperate to claim it will be business as usual for Amazon and their customers this Black Friday.
“The truth is that today will see the largest day of industrial disruption in Amazon’s history.”
Amanda Gearing is exactly right: all of Amazon’s vast profits come from the labour of its workers. If its workers were paid for all the value they produced, there would be no profit.
Good luck to the Amazon workers in squeezing out a greater share of what they’re owed. The fight of labour against capital is one that concerns us all.
