Apple store Glasgow workers unionise in UK first

Workers at the Glasgow Apple Store are the first in the UK to receive formal union registration.

It is being written as a “compelling new chapter in the trade-union drama,” according to GMB union organiser John Slaven.

The first Apple retail union in the US was founded by employees in the Maryland branch earlier this year.

The employees of Glasgow’s Buchanan Street Apple Store have previously stated that union recognition will be used to negotiate higher salaries.

“We have long been devoted to offering an outstanding experience for our customers and staff,” an Apple representative stated.

Apple is one of the highest-paying retailers in Scotland, and as part of the all-encompassing support we provide for our cherished team members, we continually enhance our industry-leading benefits.

After joining the GMB and requesting voluntary union registration, employees at the store revealed to the Glasgow Evening Times in June that they were paid an average of £12 per hour.

The cost-of-living dilemma, according to one person, is harming people. A voice, pay transparency, and pay equity are required.

The outcome of the union recognition vote on Wednesday was, according to Mr. Slaven, “a monument to the hard work of the activists and workers” in the store.

The union was “pro-worker and not anti-employer,” as evidenced by the two-thirds majority, and “trade unionism should be a natural and welcome element of every workplace.”

The action coincides with rising efforts to organise unions by workers at tech behemoths like Activision Blizzard, Amazon, and Google parent company Alphabet.

Keir Starmer, the leader of Labour, pushed Amazon last month to formally recognise GMB members after a strike ballot fell three votes short of the required 50% of the vote.