German Amazon workers striking over better pay

BERLIN-Reuters

More than 2,000 workers at seven Amazon sites across Germany have gone on strike over pay for at least two days, labour union Verdi said on July 15.

The walkouts, under the motto ‘No more discount on our incomes”, started overnight and coincide with Amazon’s Prime Day when the U.S. online retail giant offers its ‘Prime’ customers discount deals.

Germany is its second-biggest market after the United States.

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

Verdi said the strikes had hit Amazon’s sites in Werne, Rheinberg, Leipzig, Graben, Koblenz, as well as at Amazon’s two sites in Bad Hersfeld.

Amazon runs 12 warehouses - which it calls fulfilment centres - in Germany. On July 14, Amazon said it plans to open a new warehouse in Germany this year and create more than 2,800 jobs with permanent contracts.