German Union Calls 4-Day Strike At Amazon Sites Ahead Of Easter

The trade union Verdi has called for workers at six Amazon sites in Germany to go on strike from Sunday evening for four days to try to force the U.S. e-commerce group to recognise collective bargaining agreements.

Verdi said the strikes at Amazon’s sites in Rheinberg, Werne, Koblenz, Leipzig and at two locations in Bad Hersfeld signalled an “unofficial start” to wage talks for the retail and mail order industry, which are due to begin in the next few weeks.

Germany is Amazon’s biggest market after the United States and Verdi is demanding a pay increase of 4.5% for workers in the retail and mail order industry.

Verdi representative Orhan Akman stated that Amazon was making a mint in the coronavirus crisis and for that reason alone, wage evasion must be stopped.

But Amazon says it offers excellent pay and benefits stating that during past calls for strikes over 90% of employees in the logistic centres worked as normal.

Amazon has faced a long-running battle with unions in Germany over better pay and conditions for logistics workers, who have frequently staged strikes since 2013.