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Article

2 Dec 2019

Author:
Sam Corbishley, Metro

Unions organise Black Friday strikes over Amazon's pay & "appalling" working conditions

“Amazon hit by Black Friday strikes and protests across Europe”, 29 November 2019

Amazon was targeted by a UK-wide protest organised to coincide with Black Friday and Cyber Monday demanding an end to ‘appalling’ working conditions. In another blow…distribution centres across Germany walked out amid a long-simmering battle for better pay. Trade union GMB…union, [United Kingdom] cited figures suggesting there had been more than 600 ambulance call-outs to Amazon warehouses over a three-year period...

[An] Amazon spokesperson blasted “self-interested critics”…“The truth is that Amazon already offers industry-leading pay, comprehensive benefits, as well as a safe, modern work environment…[t]hese groups are conjuring misinformation to work in their favour, when in fact we already offer the things they claim to be fighting for.’

Amazon workers in Germany marked Black Friday by going on strike for better pay. Union ver.di announced that the walkouts would affect six distribution centres. [R]epresentative Orhan Akman said…that their work can’t be bought with the kind of extreme discounts offered by the online retail giant this time of year,…also accus[ing] the company of putting “extreme pressure” on staff that has caused some to fall ill...

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