Amazon workers in 20 countries prepare to go on strike

Amazon workers in about 20 countries, including the United States and Britain, plan to stage protests and strike on Black Friday.

Plans include vigils and work stops on one of the company’s best-selling days of the year.

The “Make Amazon Pay” group said the company was overburdening workers for little return.

The group receives support from coalitions, labor unions, and non-profit associations in several countries.

Because Amazon warehouses in several countries are subject to labor unions, some union members will work on the day of the strike, but others will organize vigils in front of the warehouses.

The Workers’ Union in Germany called on all workers to go on strike, in all major Amazon warehouses, starting from Wednesday evening.

And 50 groups of the company’s workers in several countries signed an agreement, with a number of common demands, and the “Make Amazon Pay the Price” group adopted them.

Among these demands:

• Increasing the salaries of workers in the company’s warehouses, and making allowances as risk allowance, and allowance for work in peak times.
• Suspending labor control systems, and reducing the demands and burdens imposed on them.
• Increasing the number of sick days, and improving the conditions to combat the outbreak of the Corona virus.
• Install temporary workers and stop anti-union orders.
• Pay taxes directly without fraud.

“Amazon has made a lot of money, even in light of the Corona virus, and it can do better than that for workers,” said Mick Rex, a representative of the (GMP) labor union.

“It’s time for the company to listen to its employees and sit down with the union so that Amazon becomes a great place to work,” he added.

The company achieved profits this year that exceeded 3 times its profits in the previous year, thanks to its success in acquiring larger segments of customers during the outbreak of the Corona virus.

The company faces accusations that it adopts an anti-union stance in its various branches, in particular, in the United States.

And the US authorities investigated earlier this year accusations that Amazon pressured workers in its warehouse in a city in Alabama to vote “no” in their opinion poll to join a labor union in the state.

“Amazon’s growing capabilities pose a danger and threat to local communities, labor unions, and workers around the world,” said Owen Espley, of a rights group.

“Amazon is abusing its influence in online retail, information networks, and its control of supply chains, to create unfair conditions for competitors, which lowers standards for everyone,” he added.

“Amazon workers face unsafe conditions, constant surveillance, and are treated like robots,” he continued.

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations against it in Britain.

But company representatives told US media that they were working to resolve many of the workers’ concerns, and admitted that things at the company were “not in the best shape.”