Non-union workers can see organised labour’s power: now is the time for unions to talk to those wanting better conditions
- Polly Smythe is labour movement correspondent at Novara Media
At midnight on 25 January, warehouse workers at Amazon’s BHX4 in Coventry stopped sorting and scanning goods, walked away from their workstations, past management and security, and became the first workers to officially go on strike against the corporate giant in the UK. In taking their action, these workers joined striking Co-op Funeralcare coffin manufacturers in Glasgow, sewage plant attendants and flood forecasting officers at the Environment Agency, and security and visitor services staff at the British Museum in London, National Museums Scotland, and the National Museum of Liverpool.
These disputes, along with other settled and potential disputes, make up the current wave of industrial action in Britain. This episode of renewed labour militancy has been called everything from the unimaginative “winter of discontent” to the overwrought “general strike”. It spans all sectors, and strikes are happening or are on the cards in industries that aren’t traditionally strike-prone, such as charity and entertainment. And, unlike the biggest disputes in the 2010s – the public sector strikes of 2011 and 2014 – this time there is substantial private sector involvement.
