A legal battle examining whether Amazon pressured workers to cancel their union memberships is beginning this week – and could see the tech giant forced to pay out £5m to workers.
An attempt to create the first unionised Amazon warehouse in the UK failed last July after falling short by just 29 votes.
Amazon is accused of using “dirty tricks” and breaking employment law in the run-up to the ballot. A majority vote would have enabled the GMB Union to formally represent its membership among the workforce, including on issues such as pay and working conditions.
This is the first time Amazon is facing legal action in the UK over its conduct during staff unionisation efforts.
Amazon maintains it is “confident that a fair ballot process was followed”.
In the David vs Goliath case, which begins on Tuesday, 878 workers from Coventry will take on the tech giant. They argue signs showing QR codes (a type of barcode) unlawfully stopped unionisation efforts.
Amazon widely displayed posters and signs about the union ballot in the warehouse, including in the canteen and toilets. They urged workers to “know the facts” about unionising, suggested workers could save money if they cancelled their GMB memberships, and that staff would be potentially worse-off for joining up or see no new benefits.
Two of Amazon’s signs with QR codes, which helped workers resign from the union (Photo: Amazon/Foxglove)One poster read that union recognition would prevent staff from being able to speak up for themselves, would invite “unknowns and uncertainty” and interfere with being able to put “your priorities first”.
It added: “With all that you have with Amazon, union recognition may not be your best choice.
“Why pay for something you have right now?”
These messages were presented alongside a QR code that, when scanned with a phone, generated a pre-written email template that would enable a person to cancel their union membership in less than a minute.
Campaigners highlight that this means Amazon made it possible for a worker to resign from the GMB in less steps than it takes for a customer to unsubscribe from Amazon Prime.
‘It feels like we’re yelling into a void’
Ceferina Floresca is among the 878 workers taking on the wealthy tech companyCeferina Floresca, 69, works at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse where she suffered a heart attack while at work two years ago.
She is among those who are unhappy with working conditions and the treatment of staff, and believes that unionising is the only way for things to improve.
“I’ve seen first hand how workers are treated without the accountability or structure to protect them. We spend long hours on our feet dealing with unrealistic expectations and relentless performance monitoring. When we raise concerns, it feels like we’re yelling into a void.
“A union to me represents collective strength. It’s a way to balance the scales and say, ‘Hey, we matter, our health, our voices, our safety, they matter!”.
She was surprised when she saw the posters with QR codes.
“It was sneaky, calculated and frankly disrespectful… A lot of people were discouraged when they saw them. [Others] who were not members believed Amazon when they saw the QR code. It’s very manipulative.”
Floresca, who has worked for Amazon for six years, is aware that the legal case she and her colleagues are bringing may be a tough battle.
“Amazon has money, lawyers and influence, but we have the truth, solidarity and numbers. The odds are not in our favour but history has always been written by people who refuse to accept this status quo.”
GMB data shows 71 workers scanned the code and 36 of them went on to cancel their memberships.
Amazon said the QR codes were a response to employees who said they wanted to cancel their membership but could not find a way to do so.
“We think it is very important that our employees had a full understanding of what union recognition would mean for both themselves and their workplace,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
“That way they could make an informed decision when they voted in the ballot. This included sharing links to official government information about trade unions to help inform their decision.”
The Employment Tribunal case will decide whether Amazon is in breach of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992, specifically the protections which forbid employers from making offers designed to stop workers’ “terms of employment” from being “determined by collective agreement”.
If the tribunal sides with the workers’ argument that these QRs codes were in breach of these rules and consider them what is known as “an unlawful inducement”, Amazon would be required to pay each worker £5,584.
A protester holds a sign during a rally in support of Amazon workers on strike outside the company’s warehouse in Coventry in 2023 (Photo: Reuters/Henry Nicholls)Amanda Gearing, GMB senior organiser, told The i Paper: “GMB members at Amazon Coventry were a handful of votes away from winning historic union recognition. But they were up against a multibillion-pound business who used all the dirty tricks they could to stop these workers having a voice.
“We believe it was not a fair fight and Amazon broke employment law.”
The legal action is supported by Foxglove, a non-profit organisation that campaigns against alleged unjust practises from Big Tech organisations.
Foxglove director Rosa Curling said: “Amazon’s global anti-worker machine is notorious, stamping down with Jeff Bezos space boots on every attempt to organise in a warehouse.”
She continued: “That’s why we’re so proud to be supporting the first legal challenge against Amazon’s union-busting in the British legal system, both against its dodgy QR codes and the more old-school bullying and intimidation they deployed in the run-up to the Coventry union vote.”
The Amazon fulfilment centre during a strike over pay in Coventry in 2023 (Photo: Darren Staples/Bloomberg via Getty)An Amazon spokesperson said: “The recognition ballot was overseen by an independent third-party organisation appointed by the CAC (Central Arbitration Committee). The third-party organisation’s report contains no suggestion of any irregularities or unfairness. We are confident that a fair ballot process was followed.”
They added that they believe the independent ballot result was robust as there was an 86 per cent turnout of those eligible to vote. Amazon highlights GMB had access to the Coventry site and employees, held group and individual meetings on site with employees and were able to communicate GMB messaging through leaflets and using digital screens onsite.
The spokesperson added: “Amazon believes 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.
“Throughout the ballot process, attendance at Amazon employee meetings was entirely voluntary. Employees were informed of this when they were invited to a meeting and also at the start of each meeting. The GMB held similar meetings with our employees on site, which were also voluntary.”
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