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Amazon employees at six German locations have stopped working since Monday amid the lockdown. The Verdi union thus increases the pressure in the conflict over collective wage agreements.
The Ver.di union has asked employees of online retailer Amazon to go on strike for several days. Employees at six locations must stop work from Monday night through December 24, as announced by Ver.di.
The objective is the recognition of collective agreements for retail and mail order trade, as well as the conclusion of a collective agreement for good and healthy work. According to the information, the locations of Werne, Rheinberg (both in North Rhine-Westphalia), Leipzig (Saxony), Koblenz (Rhineland-Palatinate) and two locations in Bad Hersfeld, Hesse, will be on strike.
Seemingly no impact to customers
According to its own information, Ver.di expects around 1,700 participants in the strike. In Bad Hersfeld alone, about 500 participants stopped their work early Monday morning, a union spokeswoman said.
At Amazon, it has always been said about similar campaigns in the past, customers did not feel that any of them and the packages arrived on time. Most of the employees take care of customer orders as usual and work normally.
Verdi demands a collectively agreed payment, right now
The wage dispute at Amazon has been going on since 2013. Ver.di requires collective agreements for employees at Amazon’s shipping centers in Germany, as is customary in retail and mail order. Amazon rejects this because the activities in the different locations should not be assigned to retail, but to logistics.
“The shutdown of stationary retail last week significantly increased order volume from mail order companies like Amazon. While the group continues to increase its billion-dollar profits, it refuses to pay employees according to the collective agreement. These are minimum conditions, “said Stefanie, a member of the board of Ver.di Benefitberger.
Amazon wins “a golden nose” in the crisis. In the Corona crisis in particular, employees are “under even greater pressure because Amazon is making delivery promises despite the added hustle and bustle.” This is “inevitably at the expense of the health of the workforce, especially now in the conditions of the pandemic.”
Online boom in Christmas gifts
The online boom in the holiday business this year is fueling the debate about the negative effects of the mail order business. The idea of a new package delivery caused a stir over the weekend. Paying for shipments from online retailers should benefit fixed retailers in city centers.
At the same time, worries about employees increase. Attention was focused on the risk of corona infections, stress, and often low pay. One in three full-time employees in the mail order business works for low wages, as a response from the Federal Employment Agency at the disposal of the German Press Agency to a request from the left at Bundestag shows.
According to the Federal Association for Electronic Commerce and Mail Order, consumers in Germany bought € 17.4 billion online in October and November, 17.5 percent more than in October / November 2019.
According to the Federal Agency, the average income of full-time employees in the mail order business was just 2,663 euros gross per month last year. That is 738 euros less than the average for all industries.
