The GMB is taking legal action against Amazon in the long-running battle for recognition at its Coventry warehouse, accusing the US firm of trying to “induce” staff to leave the union.
An employment tribunal claim is being lodged on behalf of five workers at the large site, known as BHX4.
The GMB cites practices including anti-union messages appearing on message boards, and workers being called into meetings lasting an hour or more, at which they claim managers are critical of unions.
They say QR codes have also been displayed around the building, which, when scanned by a staff member, automatically generate an email to the GMB’s membership department, cancelling their membership.
Amanda Gearing, a GMB senior organiser, said: “This is a company out of control. Amazon is a multibillion-pound corporation, doing everything in its power to stop minimum wage workers from forming a union.”
Under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, it is unlawful for an employer to make an offer to a worker, “for the sole or main purpose of inducing the worker not to be or seek to become a member of an independent trade union”.
Lawyers working with the GMB believe the presence of the QR codes may constitute such an offer.
Rosa Curling, a director of Foxglove Legal, which is involved in the case, said workers had been “hustled into anti-union propaganda seminars, then have a QR code shoved in their face that terminates their membership with just one click to quit. If only it was so easy to quit Amazon Prime!”
Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, said: “Good employers recognise the value of unions. But Amazon is throwing everything at trying to stop workers from organising for better pay and conditions and from having an independent voice at work.
“Its union-busting tactics should have no place in Britain, and are further proof of why Labour’s new deal for working people is so badly needed.”
An Amazon spokesperson said: “Our employees have the choice of whether or not to join a union. They always have.
“We regularly review our pay to ensure we offer competitive wages and benefits. Our minimum starting pay has increased to £12.30 and £13 per hour depending on location, that’s a 20% increase over two years and 50% since 2018. We also work hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities.”
The tribunal case underlines the fraught relationship between unions and management, as they prepare for a legally binding ballot on union recognition at the site.
The independent watchdog the Central Arbitration Committee granted the GMB the right to call the ballot earlier this month. It is likely to take place within weeks.
To secure recognition, the GMB will need to win a majority of support in the ballot. The “yes” voters must also represent at least 40% of the more than 3,000 workers on site.
The GMB has been painstakingly building up its membership at the Coventry site and other nearby warehouses over many years.
Workers have held a series of strikes over the past year, demanding £15 an hour and the right to negotiate with management over pay and conditions.
On Black Friday in November, they were joined on the picket line by members of unions representing Amazon workers in continental Europe and the US.
The multinational is well known to be sceptical about the value of working with unions, and has been accused of union-busting tactics by the US labour regulator.
