Amazon workers stopped work at the U.K. warehouse to protest pay

More than 700 Amazon warehouse workers in England started protesting in a dispute over pay due to Britain's cost of living crisis and growing discontent among employees over working conditions and wages.

The GMB union said the employees at the facility in Essex, east of London and Tilbury, stopped work after the company offered to raise salaries by 35 pence an hour. The union said workers want a raise of 2 pounds to cope with soaring inflation and match the demands of their job. The league has one of the highest members at the Tilbury location out of its 28 U.K. facilities.

Amazon said U.K. warehouse employee salaries will rise depending on the location, between 10.50 and 11.45 pounds an hour, and called it "competitive pay." The e-commerce giant also said that the employees would get a comprehensive benefits package, including life insurance, private medical insurance, employee discounts, subsidized meals, and the company pension plan.

Similar protests were staged in the U.S. More than 60 Maryland and New York workers walked out of their job. They demanded a $3 raise and a return of 20-minute breaks that the company put in place during the pandemic.