Strikes hit Amazon in Germany in the run up to Christmas
Around 2,500 Amazon employees at seven sites across Germany were on strike on Tuesday and unions warned stoppages could continue up to Christmas.
The strikes at so-called "fulfilment" centres, where Amazon prepares packages before delivery, began in two locations on Monday.
The Verdi union is calling on Amazon for an "immediate" salary increase of three percent this year, followed by a further 1.7 percent next year, in line with a collective agreement for the retail sector, to which the e-commerce giant does not adhere.
Amazon could not continue to "refuse wage increases that other companies in the sector pay", Verdi retail head Orhan Akman said in a statement Monday.
Amazon, which operates 17 centres in Germany, argues it is a logistics company, a sector in which the terms of work are considered to be less burdensome for the employer.
Amazon said it did not expect the strike to have an impact on clients.
However, a Verdi spokesman said the stoppage could cause disruption, particularly in Amazon's rapid-delivery "Prime" offering.
Strikes were likely to continue "until the end of the year", the spokesman said, impacting on the busy Christmas shopping period.
READ ALSO:
- Why people in Germany should buy Christmas gifts early this year
- How to send Christmas gifts between Germany and the UK after Brexit
Verdi, which first called for strikes at Amazon in May 2013, organised demonstrations outside the fulfilment centres on Tuesday to protest poor working conditions.
Amazon -- which has seen its business boom during the coronavirus pandemic as consumers increasingly shopped online -- announced in September that it would open eight new centres in Germany, creating 3,000 jobs by 2022.
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The strikes at so-called "fulfilment" centres, where Amazon prepares packages before delivery, began in two locations on Monday.
The Verdi union is calling on Amazon for an "immediate" salary increase of three percent this year, followed by a further 1.7 percent next year, in line with a collective agreement for the retail sector, to which the e-commerce giant does not adhere.
Amazon could not continue to "refuse wage increases that other companies in the sector pay", Verdi retail head Orhan Akman said in a statement Monday.
Amazon, which operates 17 centres in Germany, argues it is a logistics company, a sector in which the terms of work are considered to be less burdensome for the employer.
Amazon said it did not expect the strike to have an impact on clients.
However, a Verdi spokesman said the stoppage could cause disruption, particularly in Amazon's rapid-delivery "Prime" offering.
Strikes were likely to continue "until the end of the year", the spokesman said, impacting on the busy Christmas shopping period.
READ ALSO:
- Why people in Germany should buy Christmas gifts early this year
- How to send Christmas gifts between Germany and the UK after Brexit
Verdi, which first called for strikes at Amazon in May 2013, organised demonstrations outside the fulfilment centres on Tuesday to protest poor working conditions.
Amazon -- which has seen its business boom during the coronavirus pandemic as consumers increasingly shopped online -- announced in September that it would open eight new centres in Germany, creating 3,000 jobs by 2022.
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