Net-a-Porter Warehouse Workers Ballot for Strike Over London Living Wage Dispute

A retailer that sells £158,000 necklaces is facing a strike ballot over 39 pence an hour. More than 100 warehouse workers at Net-a-Porter's Charlton fulfilment centre in South London began voting on March 2 on whether to take industrial action, with the ballot running until March 25, after the GMB union accused the company of reneging on a five-year-old commitment to pay the London Living Wage.

The dispute centres on a 2021 pledge, which the GMB says Net-a-Porter has now broken by proposing a lowest hourly rate of £14.41, against the London Living Wage of £14.80. That gap of 39 pence per hour may sound modest, but for a worker on a 37.5-hour week it compounds to a shortfall of £761 a year against the £28,860 the London Living Wage would deliver annually.

Craig Prickett, regional organiser for the GMB, was blunt about the contradiction. "For a luxury fashion brand that serves wealthy clients around the world, it is simply unacceptable that the people doing the work are struggling to make ends meet in London," he said. "Workers are already facing rising costs and workloads following the recent restructuring. Instead of recognising their contribution, the company has put forward a pay proposal that keeps wages well below what is needed to live in London."

The union added that its members had not sought confrontation: "GMB members do not want to take strike action, but they deserve fairness, respect and a wage that reflects the cost of their lives in the capital."

The Charlton site, located near the Thames Barrier, is a key distribution hub for Net-a-Porter's international e-commerce operations, where staff roles include pickers and packers. Any strike mandate would therefore carry real operational weight, potentially disrupting fulfilment for the retailer's global customer base.

This is not the first time the Charlton workforce has reached this point. In 2023, 91 percent of GMB members voted for strike action in a dispute that threatened 22 days of walkouts starting November 7. That action was called off at the eleventh hour after an agreement was reached to pay the then London Living Wage of £13.15 an hour, a rise of 10 percent for some workers. The present dispute arrives in the wake of a recently concluded redundancy process at the retailer.

LuxExperience, the parent company of Net-a-Porter, responded with measured corporate language. "LuxExperience confirms that we remain engaged in a constructive and ongoing dialogue with our employees and their union representatives," a spokesperson said. "Our fundamental priority is to ensure we operate as a fair employer, providing a comprehensive remuneration package. While no final decisions have been reached regarding the ongoing vote, we are fully committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to reach a positive, sustainable resolution for our teams and the company."

The ballot closes on March 25. If the vote returns a mandate for action, it will be the second time in three years that the people packing the £9,000 handbags and £14,000 dresses have had to threaten to stop.