Union calls for Amazon warehouse to close after tuberculosis outbreak
Ten members of staff at the internet giant's warehouse tested positive for TB last year and NHS staff have reportedly been called to run blood tests
The GMB Union is calling for the Amazon warehouse in Coventry to temporarily close amid an outbreak of "non-contagious" tuberculosis.
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Ten members of staff at the internet giant's warehouse tested positive for TB last year and NHS staff have reportedly been called out this week to run blood tests.
The union is calling on the company to "immediately" close the site and send all staff home, medically suspend workers on full pay, and implement infection control measures.
Amada Gearing, GMB Senior Organiser, said: “Currently, Amazon is putting all workers, site visitors, and the local and wider communities at risk of exposure to a serious infectious disease.
“Coventry Amazon risks becoming the engine room of a mass TB outbreak of a scale not seen for decades.
“Immediate and decisive action – including the temporary closure of Amazon Coventry - is required to prevent this.”
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TB has been on the rise in the UK in the last few years, reversing the previous downward trend, after it increased by 13 per cent in 2024.
Symptoms of TB include a cough that lasts more than three weeks, high temperatures, drenching night sweats, loss of appetite and unexplained weight loss
A spokesperson for Amazon said: "Nothing is more important than the safety and wellbeing of our team members. Last year, ten people who work at our Coventry fulfilment centre tested positive for non-contagious TB.
"In line with best practice safety procedures, we immediately followed guidance from the NHS and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and made all potentially affected employees aware of the situation.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we are currently running an expanded screening programme with the NHS. To date, no additional cases have been identified, and our site continues to run as normal.
"We will continue to follow guidance from the experts in the NHS, and would respectfully remind public organizations of the need for responsible communications where matters of public wellbeing are concerned."