Who’s on strike today and how will it affect you? Daily update for January 25
Teachers, bin and bus workers and Amazon staff will all walk out today to demand fair pay and better working conditions amid the cost of living crisis.
The first-ever strike in a UK Amazon warehouse will take place in Coventry on Wednesday.
It comes after staff rejected a 50p-an-hour pay rise over the summer – equivalent to 5%, which is well below soaring inflation.
People ‘working for one of the most valuable companies in the world shouldn’t have to threaten strike action just to win a wage they can live on’, the GMB trade union has said.
Amazon has responded saying bosses are ‘proud to offer competitive pay which starts at a minimum of between £10.50 and £11.45 per hour, depending on location’.
A spokesperson previously said this ‘represents a 29% increase in the minimum hourly wage paid to Amazon employees since 2018’.
Teachers in Scotland are also taking to the picket lines before their counterparts in England and Wales follow suit next month.
Those working in South Ayrshire and Edinburgh are striking in a dispute over another 5% pay rise offer.
Scotland’s teachers are striking on sixteen consecutive days in January and February – with teachers across two local authorities walking out on each of these dates.
The Educational Institute of Scotland warns members have been ‘greatly angered by the actions of the Scottish Government and COSLA’.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has said she remains committed to a ‘fair and sustainable pay deal’.
Any new offer would need to be agreed by all 32 council leaders – but they are not due to meet until towards the end of this month.
London bus workers at Abellio are also taking industrial action once again on Wednesday following 20 days of strikes in the past few months.
Dutch company Abellio made profits of €401 million (£354 million) in 2021 but has imposed ‘unacceptable’ pay offer, the Unite union claims.
The no-deal is said to leave full-time drivers with under two years’ of service on £3.29 less per hour than their colleagues with more than two years.
Jon Eardley, managing director of Abellio London, has ‘urged Unite to recognise Abellio’s 12% pay deal and encourage their members to resume normal services’.
Meanwhile, around 80 refuse workers and street cleaners in Liverpool are continuing their week-long walk-out, which kicked off on Monday.
Liverpool Streetscene Services Ltd workers want a pay increase of 4% and an additional £1,000 to offset energy bills and food prices shooting up.
Unite says many roles are underpaid – for example refuse drivers, who must hold a HGV licence, are given £14.71 an hour.
LSSL said it was ‘surprised and disappointed’ at the move after ‘the national pay award… was agreed and awarded to their members in November’.
A spokesman said: ‘This rise of £1,925 equates to a £1 per hour increase with an additional 4% for any additional allowances, meaning all our staff have seen their annual salary rise between 7%-12%.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.