FRANKFURT – Workers at six Amazon sites in Germany will go on strike on Monday in protest of safety after some staff at logistics centers tested positive for coronavirus, the Verdi union said.
Verdi said Sunday that the strike would last at least 48 hours, under the slogan “Good and healthy work,” to denounce what he called a lack of transparency by the US retail giant after workers tested positive for COVID-19.
“We have information that at least 30 to 40 colleagues were infected,” said Verdi’s representative Orhan Akman.
Amazon has faced a long-standing battle with unions in Germany for better wages and conditions for logistics workers, who have staged frequent strikes since 2013.
Verdi said the strikes will affect Amazon sites in Leipzig, Bad Hersfeld, Rheinberg, Werne and Koblenz. He said Amazon was putting profits above the safety of its workers.
Amazon rejected the allegations in a statement, saying it had invested $ 4 billion in measures to protect its global workforce and customers from the risk of COVID-19 infections as of June.
In Germany, its largest market after the United States, Amazon has ordered since February 470 million bottles of hand disinfection, 21 million pairs of gloves, 19 million masks and other face protection equipment, and 39 million boxes of wipes. disinfectants, an Amazon spokesman in Germany said.
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