Amazon workers prepare to strike on busiest day of the year

Employees and activists of US e-commerce giant Amazon in Europe plan to organize protests at Amazon packaging and storage centers on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Black Friday, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, is considered the day when many retailers lower prices to increase sales.

Black Friday, which initially attracted crowds of people lining up at department stores in the United States, has become increasingly online and global, driven by Amazon, which this year announced ten days of Christmas sales, from December 17 to 27. November.

GERMAN UNION STRIKE DECLARATION

German union Verdi has demanded a collective wage agreement for workers working at five warehousing and packaging centers in Bad Hersfeld, Dortmund, Koblenz, Leipzig and Rheinberg in Germany, Amazon’s second-largest market by sales in 2022, until midnight last night. that he would go on strike for 24 hours.

An Amazon spokesperson in Germany said workers are paid fair wages, with a starting wage of more than 14 euros ($15.27) per hour and additional benefits, and that deliveries of Black Friday orders will be made smoothly. reliable and punctual.

1,000 WORKERS LEAVE THEIR JOBS IN ENGLAND

In England, according to the GMB union, more than 1,000 workers working at the Amazon warehouse in Coventry will go on strike today due to a long-running wage dispute. Amazon’s UK spokesperson also stated that the strike would not cause any disruption.

Many Amazon customers use lockers located at train stations, supermarket parking lots, and on street corners to pick up their orders.

In France, the anti-globalization organization Attac is encouraging its activists to stick posters and tape on these lockers, thus preventing delivery drivers and customers from opening the lockers.