Marvin OnumonuAmazon workers have secured a key win as their legal case against the company gets underway.
A judge at London Central Employment Tribunal ruled that evidence about Amazon’s union-busting actions will be fully heard when the case starts.
The dispute relates to Amazon’s actions before a union recognition vote at its Midlands warehouse in July last year.
Out of 2,600 workers, 49.5% backed union recognition, missing the threshold by 28 votes.
In the weeks before the vote, managers put up QR codes in the warehouse, aimed at making it easier for staff to leave the GMB union.
The next hearing is due on 19th December 2025.
Amanda Gearing, senior organiser at GMB, said: “It’s been clear from the launch of the claim Amazon’s tactics are tie the case up in red tape and bog it down with technical detail.
“Amazon’s legal team pushed for a separate hearing on whether the QR codes constituted an ‘offer’ – a hearing that would deny GMB members the opportunity to talk about everything they experienced in the warehouse.
“Thankfully the judge agreed and ruled against a preliminary hearing on this issue alone – meaning the whole story will now be heard.”
A spokesperson from Amazon 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.”
They added: “We think it is very important that our employees had a full understanding of what union recognition would mean for both themselves 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 also at the start of each meeting.
“The GMB held similar meetings with our employees on site, which were also voluntary.”
