LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. technology and retail

giant Amazon ( AMZN ) could soon be required to formally recognise the

GMB union at its Coventry warehouse in Britain, after a

government body ruled in the union's favour.

GMB said in a statement on Friday that Amazon ( AMZN ) workers at the

site would now vote on union recognition, and if approved, it

would be the first time outside the United States that Amazon ( AMZN )

was required to bargain with a union over pay, hours and

holiday.

Amazon ( AMZN ) has historically opposed unionisation, but in 2022,

workers at one of its New York warehouses forced the company to

recognise a trade union in the U.S. for the first time.

The group's preference has been to resolve issues with

employees directly rather than through unions.

Workers at Amazon's ( AMZN ) Coventry warehouse in central England

have been involved in a dispute over pay and union recognition

for over a year.

Amazon ( AMZN ), which did not immediately respond to a request for

comment from Reuters, employs 75,000 in the UK, making the U.S.

retail giant one of the UK's top ten private-sector employers.