Amazon is hit by strikes and protests across Europe during Black Friday

LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Amazon (AMZN.O) workers went on strike at multiple sites across Europe on Friday to protest the U.S. e-commerce giant’s labor practices on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Make Amazon Pay, a campaign coordinated by the global union UNI, said strikes and protests will occur in more than 30 countries starting on Black Friday – the day after the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, when many retailers cut prices to boost sales – until Monday. .

Originally known for crowds lining up at U.S. supermarkets, Black Friday has increasingly moved online and gone global, fueled in part by Amazon, which this year announced holiday sales from Nov. 17 to Nov. 27.

In Germany, Amazon’s second-largest market by sales last year, the Verdi labor union estimated that about 2,000 workers went on strike at six Amazon fulfillment centers in Germany.

It said 500 workers went on strike at a warehouse in Rheinberg, representing about 40% of the workforce, and about 250 workers did so at a warehouse in Leipzig, representing about 20% there.

An Amazon spokesperson in Germany said that only a small number of workers participated in the strike, and that workers are receiving fair wages, with a starting salary of more than 14 euros ($15.27) per hour. The spokesperson said deliveries for Black Friday orders will be reliable and timely.

In England, more than 200 workers went on strike on Friday at an Amazon warehouse in Coventry as part of a long-running dispute over wages.

Nick Henderson, a worker at the warehouse, which acts as a logistics hub for Amazon to process products and send them to other warehouses, said he was striking to demand higher wages and better working conditions.

The striking workers chanted, demanding an increase in wages to 15 pounds ($18.69) per hour.

An Amazon UK spokesperson said the starting minimum wage was between £11.80 and £13 per hour depending on location, and would increase to £12.30 to £13 per hour from April 2024. Amazon said the strike would not cause disruption.

In Italy, the CGIL trade union said that more than 60% of workers at the Amazon warehouse in Castel San Giovanni are on strike, while Amazon said that more than 86% of its workers there came to work and there was no impact on operations.

Spain’s CCOO union has called on Amazon warehouse and delivery workers to strike for an hour each shift on “Cyber ​​Monday” next week.

In France, stickers and barrier tapes were pasted on Amazon’s parcel lockers — located at train stations, supermarket parking lots and street corners, which many customers use to receive orders — according to anti-globalization organization ATAK, which planned the protest.

Atack, who describes Black Friday as a “celebration of overproduction and consumption,” said 40 lockers across the country were targeted. Amazon said all of its lockers in France are still available.

Amazon has it It remained popular In Europe even though competitors like Shin and Timo have seen rapid growth. Amazon’s app had 146 million active users in Europe in October, compared to 64 million for Shein and 51 million for Temu, according to data.ai.

($1 = 0.9168 euros)

($1 = 0.8025 pounds)

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.