'Keir Starmer must fight pressure and stick to his pledge on strike laws'
You can’t accuse retail giant Amazon of lacking a sense of humour.
They call their monster hi-tech sheds “fulfilment centres” rather than warehouses for workers, as I expect it sounds better. Fulfilling for profits, not pay packets, it seems. Employees in Coventry and Birmingham are going on strike next week. Their claim is for £15 an hour and recognition of their union, the GMB. I wish them well. Striking is never easy, nor lightly undertaken.
But there are times when employers simply will not listen to the just demands of their staff, until the workplace falls silent. And no doubt Amazon bosses will belittle the walk-outs, sneering at their limited impact. It’s par for the course.
Last year saw something of a rebirth of the Great British Strike in the NHS, the railways, teaching, the Border Force, universities, airports and private sector companies. Some of the disputes are still going on, largely because the Tories think they can spin them out until after the election and then blame Labour.
I support the right to strike – which means the ability to mount industrial action, not just an airy-fairy legal concept. And that’s why I back the unions’ insistence that Sir Keir Starmer must fight off pressure from employers and keep his pledge on rights for workers.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
He promised a new deal for working people, repealing draconian laws on turnout for strike ballots, and giving day one rights on unfair dismissal, sick pay, parental leave and flexible working. Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves insists Labour is committed to the plan, because “if an economy is not working for working people, it’s not working at all”.
Fine words. Let’s hold her to them. Meanwhile, good luck Amazon workers. I, for one, will not buy anything from the company on strike days.
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