A German trade union called on workers at seven Amazon warehouses to go on strike on Monday for several days to coincide with the global Prime Day promotion.
Ver.di said it was organising the three-day strike at seven locations as part of a long-running battle with the US tech giant in Germany over better pay and working conditions.
"The workers in the mail order centres have to cope with the rush of customers and don't get a cent more for the additionally intensified workload," said Ver.di representative Orhan Akman in a statement.
The strikes in Werne, Leipzig, Rheinberg, two locations at Bad Hersfeld, Koblenz and Graben will begin on Monday night (21 June) and continue up to and including Wednesday (23 June), according to the trade union.
Strikes
Germany is Amazon's biggest market after the United States, and the Ver.di union has been organising strikes at Amazon in the country since 2013 to protest low pay and poor conditions.
In May of this year, the union called on Amazon workers to strike at seven distribution centres over the online giant's reported refusal to enter into collective bargaining talks.
An Amazon spokesperson said the company offers excellent pay and benefits. It has said during past calls for strikes over 90% of employees in the logistic centres worked as normal.
Entry-Level Wage
Earlier this month, Amazon said it will guarantee an entry-level wage at its German warehouses of €12 ($14.25) an hour from July, which will rise to at least €12.50 per hour from autumn 2022.
Akman described the move as "cynical and far from recognition and respect for employees by the company."
Amazon holds Prime Day to boost summer sales. The member-only discounts are an important way Amazon markets Prime, a fast-shipping and media-streaming service that incentivises subscribers to do more shopping on Amazon.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM. For more Supply Chain news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
