German Amazon Workers Strike On Black Friday
Source: DW/Deutsche Welle
Hundreds of Amazon workers in Germany have taken strike action on the same day the retailer holds its "Black Friday" sales drive. The union Verdi says tough conditions are making workers ill.
Workers at Amazon distribution centers in Germany walked off the job on Friday, escalating a long-running struggle for better pay and working conditions. The strike action, which began on the same day that the online giant held its Black Friday sales bonanza, was set to last into early next week.
The powerful Verdi union said it expected the strike to last until Tuesday morning, including Cyber Monday. Verdi said stoppages were underway at Amazon distribution centers in Leipzig, Bad Hersfeld, Koblenz, Rheinberg, Werne and Graben. The union claims that Amazon is "withholding basic rights" from staff, and forcing them to work under "extreme pressure."
"As a result, many employees become ill," Verdi said. "Their work cannot be had at rock-bottom prices," the union said in a statement. It demanded a collective labor agreement to ensure "a living wage and good, healthy jobs."...
Read more: https://www.dw.com/en/german-amazon-workers-strike-on-black-friday/a-51473877
The impact of the strike was played down by Amazon which says packages would arrive on time, and most of its 13,000 German workers at 13 logistics centers were working "as normal."
The company has dismissed calls from the union for labor negotiations and has defended its work environment. Amazon claims it is "one of the best employers in the logistics industry."
Recent years have seen Amazon's Black Friday operations hit by industrial action in various countries, with stoppages by workers in Britain, Germany and Spain.
-"Friday Protests Across Europe Demand Amazon Start Treating Workers Like Humans, Not Robots" 'Workers are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious, and being taken away in ambulances.'
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/11/29/black-friday-protests-across-europe-demand-amazon-start-treating-workers-humans-not
- Attac movement activists hold signs during an anti-Black Friday action in front of the Amazon France headquarters in Clichy, north of Paris, early on November 29, 2019.
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