Amazon workers across Europe are waging a Prime Day strike “to demand better working conditions,” according to NBC News.
In Germany, “the Verdi services union called the one-day strike to back its demand for labor contracts that guarantee healthy working conditions at fulfillment centers run by the world’s largest e-commerce company,” and thousands of workers are expected to join in. Simultaneous strikes will also be happening in Poland and Spain.
“The message is clear — while the online giant gets rich, it is saving money on the health of its workers,” Stefanie Nutzenberger, Verdi’s top official responsible for the retail sector, told NBC.
And though Amazon seemed rather blasé about the affair — they said that they expected “only a fraction of its 12,000 workers in Germany” to join in and anticipated no effect on deliveries — Germany is the company’s “second largest national market after the United States,” accounting for $17 billion in sales last year (9.5 percent), so it’s not unreasonable to assume that a sizable strike could have some sort of impact.
For its part, the company said that “Amazon fulfillment center jobs offered competitive pay and comprehensive benefits from the first day of employment,” noting that “full-time staff earn 12.22 euros ($14.31) an hour or more after two years,” which isn’t human-rights-violation low, but not admirably high, either.
Happy Prime Day, I guess.
You can read more about it at NBC News.
