Berlin [Germany], November 29: Some 3,000 Amazon warehouse employees across Germany staged coordinated walkouts on Black Friday, seeking to increase pressure on the company to agree to a collective wage agreement.
The strike, organized by the trade union Verdi, targeted one of the busiest online shopping days of the year, when Amazon traditionally records some of its highest sales.
Work stoppages hit some major fulfilment centers, including those in the cities of Bad Hersfeld, Dortmund, Frankenthal, Graben, and Koblenz. Verdi argues that Amazon should align wages with standard pay levels in the German retail sector.
Silke Zimmer, a member of Verdi's national executive board, said workers were under constant strain. "For our colleagues, every day feels like Black Friday due to work intensification and arbitrary pay practices," she said.
Amazon said the strike would not significantly affect customer orders, noting that it employs roughly 40,000 permanent logistics workers in Germany and has brought on 12,000 temporary staff for the Christmas period.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
