Amazon Workers Launch Easter-Week Strike at Germany Logistics Centers
April 15 2019 - 10:26AM
Dow Jones News
By Patrick Costello
Workers at Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) in Germany have gone on strike
at four logistics centers in the country as part of a bid for
higher pay and collective wage agreements with the online
retailer.
Amazon employees went on strike beginning midnight on Monday at
logistics centers in Bad Hersfeld, Werne, Rheinberg and Koblenz,
the Verdi trade union said.
The strike is slated to continue through Tuesday in Bad Hersfeld
and through Thursday at the Werne and Rheinberg centers. Verdi said
strikes at additional Amazon sites in Germany could break out "at
any time" during the week leading up to Easter.
"We want to push through a noticeable pay rise for retail and
mail-order businesses in bargaining talks," Verdi trade union
secretary Mechthild Middeke said, adding that any pay increases
have to be commensurate with Amazon's demands for higher output
from workers.
The union has been calling for years for Amazon to increase pay
and abide by industrywide wage agreements in Germany, saying the
online retailer pays less than Verdi's demands by not recognizing
sector-wide agreements.
Verdi was unable on Monday to provide estimates for the number
of striking workers, but a spokesman for Amazon Germany said the
company saw limited participation in the strike, which it said had
"zero operational impact" and no impact on customer deliveries.
"Amazon proves every day that you can be a fair and responsible
employer without a collective agreement," the spokesman said,
adding that wages at Amazon logistics centers are "at the upper
end" of what is paid in comparable jobs.
Write to Patrick Costello at patrick.costello@dowjones.com.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2019 10:11 ET (14:11 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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