STRIKERS at Amazon have accused the firm of bully-boy tactics, with the online retail giant warning workers there not to walk out and discouraging people from joining a union.

Photos of notices were shared with the Morning Star today after up to 1,100 walked out at the Coventry and Rugeley fulfilment centres last week, a year after their action began.

One warehouse worker at Friday’s Coventry rally told the Star that bosses have been putting the frighteners on workers, calling them into meetings aimed at discouraging them from unionising.

He said: “They have meetings. They grab 10 people in the meeting and say: ‘Don’t trust GMB, they can’t do nothing.’ 

“They try all the time to discourage people from striking. They do not tell you: ‘Stop, don’t go’  — they put you in that situation to think about [your job security].

“Some people are getting scared: I know it’s bollocks.”

Now an insider has shared photos of notices Amazon has put up on digital noticeboards in its warehouses.They appear to have been taken before GMB accused the shopping giant of using dirty tricks to scupper its bid for recognition at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse in June.

The notices claimed: “There’s lots of ways you can have your opinions heard at Amazon. The union wants you to pay them £14.57 every month for them to speak for you.

“We believed having a voice shouldn’t cost you anything.”

Another marked as “false” the statement: “The unions says they will get you a pay rise if you vote in favour of recognition.”

GMB rep Stuart Richards told the Morning Star that similar notices had gone up over the union having no say in a consultation for the proposed closure of its Rugeley site.

He said: “For a company that is actively ignoring all of its workforce that want to talk about pay, that’s really tone-deaf.

“It’s been like most of the approaches we’ve seen by Amazon bosses: It’s ham-fisted, heavy handed and, by and large, it makes a group of workers who are already very angry more angry.”

An Amazon spokesman said: “We respect our employees’ rights to join, or not to join, a union.

“We offer competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, opportunities for career growth, all while working in a safe, modern work environment.

“At Amazon, these benefits and opportunities come with the job, as does the ability to communicate directly with the leadership of the company.”