A rising number of retailers are facing threats of industrial action from employees with the help of trade unions. Retail Week delves into why retail workers are increasingly opting to strike
The world of work has changed drastically post-Covid, with flexible work options and a focus on digitisation coming to the fore.
Employees also have different priorities compared with a few years ago. Software company New Possible’s annual What Workers Want survey in 2024 revealed that an unhealthy work culture, poor leadership and pay dissatisfaction top the list of reasons why employees consider leaving their jobs.
In a bid for better, some retail workers have joined the likes of junior doctors, train drivers and airport staff standing on the picket line.
Big-name retailers such as Amazon, Asda and Morrisons have seen staff take action over pay, pensions or working conditions – with mixed results so far.
Widespread walkouts
This surge in retail strikes isn’t just a problem for businesses in the UK. The US, mainland Europe and parts of Asia have also seen widespread industrial action.
Sian Elliott, senior policy officer at the Trades Union Congress (TUC), says that, while pay has become the “headline issue”, other factors are playing a part.
“It’s everything else in the job that isn’t going right,” she explains.
“Pay, in some ways, can be easy for employers to resolve. But there are a lot of things such as protection and working conditions that retailers need to think about, too.”
Just this year, Samsung has seen more than 6,000 workers walk out over pay and holiday in South Korea, supermarket workers in Lidl and Kaufland in Germany took action over pay, and staff at the first Apple store to unionise in the US are fighting for “higher wages, better work-life balance and fair scheduling practices”.
Amazon has seen a wave of strike action from UK workers mainly based at the Coventry warehouse since January 2023, and European-wide walkouts in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain during Black Friday last year.
While Amazon said at the time that retail operations were unaffected, this has not deterred workers from downing tools.
Anarchy in the UK
GMB Midlands senior organiser Stuart Richards, who works closely with union members at the Amazon Coventry site, said the protests initially started over pay.
“They’d been working through lockdown and generated huge profits for their employer,” he says. “Amazon did very, very well when everyone was at home shopping online.
“It was that fact about working for an employer that you’ve generated massive profit for – but still struggling to make ends meet – that sparked the process.”
This fight has been an ugly one, with GMB accusing Amazon of “shocking levels of intimidation” and “union-busting tactics” in its bid to stop the workforce unionising.
Last month, Amazon workers took part in a vote for union recognition, but 50.5% of workers voted against the move.
An Amazon spokesperson told Retail Week: “Across Amazon, we place enormous value on engaging directly with our employees and having daily conversations with them.
“It’s an essential part of our work culture. We value that direct relationship and so do our employees.
“This is why we’ve always worked hard to listen to them, act on their feedback and invest heavily in great pay, benefits and skills development – all in a safe and inclusive workplace with excellent career opportunities.
“We look forward to continuing that path with our team in Coventry.”
Asda has also been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons this year, mainly due to former co-owner Zuber Issa selling his stake, previous staff wage errors and a recent drop in market share – which chair Lord Stuart Rose said he was “embarrassed” by.
Adding to the list are aggrieved workers who took part in the supermarket’s first-ever store strike in Gosport, Hampshire, in February.
Strike action has since spread to stores in Brighton Hollingbury in East Sussex, Lowestoft in East Suffolk and Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, where a minority of staff walked out.
GMB has not held back in its attacks on Asda either, claiming workers have put up with “cuts in hours, bullying management, and health and safety issues”. It also previously accused the owners of “continuing the asset stripping of Asda at pace”.
Extending beyond issues of pay, GMB London regional officer Keith Dixon told Retail Week earlier this year that he has seen an “increase” in health and safety issues at some Asda stores in the London region.
Asda responds to claims put forward by GMB through regular meetings with local organisers and recently requested mediation from Acas, which resulted in a postponed walkout by Wisbech store workers.
The retailer is also investing £30m in stores in the second half of the year to address areas of improvement and has invested £415m into colleague pay since 2021.
An Asda spokesperson told Retail Week: “We want to have positive relationships with all our trade union partners, including the GMB, with whom we have a joint partnership agreement covering GMB members in our retail stores.
“This sets out a framework for constructive industrial relations based on mutual understanding and a willingness on both sides to address issues as soon as they arise.
“This agreement continues to work well in the majority of retail stores that have GMB representation.”
The dispute is likely to rumble on until striking workers are satisfied. Meanwhile, fellow grocer Morrisons struck a deal with its staff by reportedly giving them a 9% pay rise after strike action was called over pension contributions.
Morrisons says it “found a way forward” through “open communication” with trade union Unite.
‘Participating in the strike has been empowering’
An Amazon employee who has worked at the Coventry warehouse for six years tells Retail Week about their experiences of industrial action so far
“Many of us at Coventry have had to rely on overtime shifts to pay our bills and support our families. This reality highlights the need for increased wages, not just to cover our basic needs but to allow us the dignity of spending meaningful time with our loved ones, free from the constant worry of financial instability.
“Participating in the strike has been an empowering experience. This sense of camaraderie and shared purpose is what fuels our fight and gives us the determination to keep pushing forward.
“Since we’ve taken strike action, Amazon management have employed various tactics aimed at undermining our efforts and weakening our resolve. They’ve brought in managers from other warehouses to engage with associates, attempting to dissuade us from continuing our strike.
“Additionally, they’ve organised meetings and distributed QR codes designed to convince workers not to join the union or to revoke their membership. We see these efforts for what they are – an attempt to silence our voices and suppress our demands for fair treatment.
“The goal of our strike is clear: we are fighting for better working conditions and fairer pay.
“Although the recent ballot for union recognition was narrowly lost, we are not disheartened. Management cannot ignore us or silence our voices. We remain resolute; we will not be intimidated or deterred from standing up for what is right, and we are here to stay.”
Another employee who has worked at the Amazon Coventry warehouse for six years said he decided to strike as a “last option” to formally complain about pay and conditions
“They are showing concern since the strike action and only now pretend that they are listening. Their future actions towards us will show their true intent.”
An Amazon spokesperson said: “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.
“Employees were telling us they wanted to cancel their membership but could not find a way to do so, so we provided information to help. We have always been clear that union membership is an employee’s personal choice.
“We think it is very important that our employees have a full understanding of what union recognition would mean for both them and their workplace. 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.
“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 at the start of each meeting.
“The GMB held similar meetings with our employees on site, which were also voluntary.”
Striving for better
Each case of industrial action differs but unions ultimately want the same thing: a fair deal for their members.
TUC’s Elliott says Usdaw has negotiated significant pay deals this year, including a 10% pay rise for members at the Co-op and a 9% pay rise for Tesco workers.
“The unions are really value-adding, because if you look at the industry-wide pay it is quite low,” she says. “Whereas when you’ve got union recognition in place, they’re delivering for members.
“When we’re seeing staff and skill shortages on the scale that we’re seeing in retail, it’s never been more important to make sure you can attract and retain staff that have some say in what happens in their day-to-day job. And that’s what unions do.”
GMB’s Richards says that, historically, it has been unions and their members that create meaningful change.
He points to the example of equal pay claims against Asda brought forward by law firm Leigh Day in 2014, which also involved Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Boots, Next and the Co-op.
Richards says the union “fundamentally don’t believe that Asda would have ever sought to address the fact that they were paying groups of male workers better than their female comparators” if the case wasn’t brought forward.
“When employers sit down and try to negotiate with unions and workers, you’re much more likely to reach a consensus that actually avoids the huge legal fees that Asda is paying at the moment.”
Asda defends the claims, saying the case involves female store colleagues and male distribution centre colleagues, which are different sectors with different skills and pay rates.
While some retailers do not recognise unions, they should still communicate with workers to resolve concerns.
Financial consultant and consumer trends analyst Yiannis Zourmpanos says he has experience in advising major retailers and urges them to have contingency plans in place for strikes, such as ordering extra stock.
“Retailers must listen to workers’ concerns and strive to create a positive work environment with fair pay and benefits. This proactive approach can help prevent strikes from occurring,” he explains.
“Retailers that can adapt to this new reality of increased worker activism will not only survive but also thrive in the long run.”
Position of power
Richards believes there are more strikes to come. He says he is seeing a “huge number of Starbucks chains” gaining union recognition but admits there is still “a long way to go” for workers’ rights.
“In the UK, we saw a significant number of workers on insecure, temporary contracts. We saw the rise of the gig economy,” he says.
“So, what we’re seeing is that workers have started to realise they can do things together, join a union and start to improve their workplace.”
One step in this direction is the new deal for workers plan laid out by prime minister Keir Starmer.
A ban on zero-hours contracts, the ending of fire and rehire, and removing unnecessary restrictions on trade union activity are just some of the measures outlined in this new deal.
While this could benefit employees, some retailers are worried about the effect it could have on business.
Speaking to Retail Week in July, one senior retailer said: “We don’t need the government or unions to tell us what to do with our colleagues.”
Another said: “The current minimum wage is already generous. How much more can retailers afford to pay someone stacking shelves?”
In contrast, Labour’s proposals have been met with much enthusiasm by trade unions, with Elliott dubbing the initiative “transformative”.
“We’ve had 14 years of economic stagnation, we’ve had declining wages across the economy and that hurts businesses, because when people have less money in their pockets, they have less money to spend,” she says.
“Good employers are already doing much of what is contained within the new deal.
“They’re already welcoming unions, they’re not using zero-hours contracts, they’re paying above the minimum wage and the new deal for working people will stop the most egregious examples of bad employment.
“Good employers are already doing it. And I would say to those employers who aren’t: this is the time to start working with us and get ahead of this as it will benefit the economy, businesses and working people.”
1 Reader's comment