(Frankfurt) Several hundred Amazon employees were on strike on Friday in Germany during Black Friday, a key moment in bargain hunting, in a social conflict that is dragging on.
The movement launched at the call of the Verdi union started with the first session during the night of Friday.
It concerns five warehouses out of the twenty operated by the logistics giant in Germany – in Leipzig, Rheinberg, Dortmund, Bad Hersfeld and Koblenz, or in five regions – where packages are prepared before being routed.
The union intends to act for “better wages and working conditions,” according to a press release.
The impact of this social movement should, however, be insignificant, according to an Amazon spokesperson.
“Customers can count, as usual, on reliable and punctual deliveries,” adding that employees already benefit from “a fair salary and attractive social benefits,” according to this source.
The starting hourly wage at Amazon is 14 euros, according to the group, compared to 12 euros for the German “Smic”.
More than half of Amazon’s employees in Germany have worked there for more than 5 years, he added.
The Verdi union bases its demands on the collective agreement for the retail sector, to which the American refuses to adhere.
“Only collective agreements offer binding protection to employees against corporate arbitrariness,” Silke Zimmer, head of retail at Verdi, said in a statement.
The first strike at Amazon in Germany was 10 years ago. The mobilization has since spread and made it possible to obtain better working conditions, according to the union.
Held the day after Thanksgiving, American Black Friday has spread to Europe and beyond, with online and stationary retailers offering significant discounts to kick off the Christmas gifting season.
