Closing summary
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Coventry have gone on strike in a dispute over pay, the first time the US e-commerce giant has faced industrial action in the UK (not counting unofficial, spontaneous wildcat strikes without a formal ballot last summer).
The company played down the strike, saying a only “tiny proportion,” of the firm’s UK workforce was involved in Wednesday’s action. It insisted that operations at the site were continuing as usual and that there was “zero impact” on customers.
“We appreciate the great work our teams do throughout the year,” Amazon said, stressing the firm’s “competitive” pay rates of £10.50-£11.45 an hour. The GMB is asking for £15 an hour.
One worker described the 50p pay rise to £10.50 awarded by Amazon in August as “ridiculous”.
European and US stock markets are in the red, with a number of downbeat quarterly results, including from Microsoft last night, adding to fears of a US recession.
Our other main stories today:
Marks & Spencer has urged the UK government not to consider separate labelling for goods sold in Northern Ireland during talks with the EU about improving post-Brexit trade arrangements, arguing that it would be too costly for retailers and customers.
Microsoft is investigating an outage that has hit users of its products worldwide including Teams and Outlook.
Campaigners have hailed a “seismic shift” in arts funding after the Royal Opera House confirmed it had severed its sponsorship relationship with BP after more than three decades.
Thank you for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow. Tare care – JK
Bank of Canada raises rates to 4.5%
The Bank of Canada has raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.5%, its highest level in 15 years.
After the eighth consecutive rate hike, the central bank said it would pause to assess the impact of the rate rises – but is “prepared to increase the policy rate further if needed to return inflation to the 2% target”. Inflation in Canada has surged to 7.8%.
