INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Amazon warehouse workers in several countries in Europe are protesting over what they claim are inhuman working conditions which treat
It the latest in a series of worker actions this year.
They&ve timed the latest protest for Black Friday,one of the busiest annual shopping
days online as retailers slash prices and heavily promote deals to try to spark a seasonal buying rush.
In the UK, the GMB Union says it
expecting &hundreds& to attend protests timed for early morning and afternoon at Amazon warehouses inRugeley,Milton
Keynes,Warrington,Peterborough andSwansea
At the time of writing the union had not provided details of turnout so far.
Protests are also reported to be taking place in Spain, France
Although, when asked about strikes at its facilities in these countries, Amazon claimed: &Our European Fulfilment Network is fully
operational and we continue to focus on delivering for our customers
Any reports to the contrary are simply wrong.&
The demonstrations look intended to not only apply pressure on Amazon to accept collective
bargaining but encourage users of its website to think aboutthe wider costs involved in packing and dispatching the discounted products
they&re trying to grab.
This #BlackFriday Amazon workers worldwide have come together with one message for billionaire Jeff Bezos
We are not robots, treat us with dignity and respect.
Please share their message
#AmazonWeAreNotRobots pic.twitter.com/jwwSndkiOt
— GMB
UNION (@GMB_union) November 23, 2018
Spanish newspaper El Diaroreports that today protests by workers at Amazon largest logistics center in
the country,in San Fernando, Madrid, mark the fourth round of strikes over working conditions in Spain.
Protestors in Madrid this morning
reportedly chanted: &We will not accept discounts to our rights.&
@AmazonESP paralizada en San Fernando de Henares hoy sin trabajadores en
el #blackfriday porque @AmazonEnLucha defiende un convenio digno para la plantilla #HuelgaAmazon pic.twitter.com/XLLzOJKLnk
— CCOO-FSC
Madrid (@CCOO_FSCMadrid) November 23, 2018
A report by AP quotes the spokesman of the protest group in Spain, Douglas Harper, claiming that
around 90 percent of workers at a logistics depot in near Madrid joined the walkout — leaving just two people at the loading bay
Though Amazon reportedly diverted cargo deliveries to its other 22 depots in the country.
Update:Amazon disputes the 90 percent figure
A spokesman told us: &The numbers released by the unions are categorically wrong
Today, the majority of our associates at Amazon Fulfillment Center in San Fernando de Henares (Madrid) are working and processing our
customers& orders, as they do every day.&
French press also reports warehouse workers striking locally, and a union representing Amazon
logistics workers calling for a national strike.
In the UK the GMB Union is calling on Amazon to recognize its representation of workers,
and has attacked the company for what it dubs &Victorian working practices&.
This summer an investigation by the Union revealed ambulances
had been called to Amazon UK warehouses 600 times during the past three financial years.
Earlier this month the Union also revealeda total
of 602 reports have been made from Amazon warehouses to the Health and Safety Executivesince 2015/16 — with workers reported to have
suffered fractures, head injuries, contusions and collisions with heavy equipment.
It added that one report detailed a forklift truck crash
caused by a ‘lapse of concentration possibly due to long working hours&.
In a statement on Wednesday announcing the Black Friday protest,
Tim Roache, the GMB general secretary, said: &The conditions our members at Amazon are working under arefranklyinhuman
They are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious and being taken away in ambulances
We&re standing up and saying enough is enough, these are people making Amazonits money
People with kids, homes, bills to pay — they&re not robots.&
&Jeff Bezos is the richest bloke on the planet; he can afford to sort this
&You&d think making the workplace safer so people aren&t carted out of the warehouse in an ambulance is in everyone interest, but Amazon
seemingly have no will to get round the table with us as the union representing hundreds of their staff
Working people and the communities Amazon operates in deserve better than this
That what we&re campaigning for.&
We're staging #BlackFriday protests across the UK in anger at the awful conditions people work under at
@Amazon warehouses.
Workers are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious and being taken away in ambulances.
Make sure people see this
Hit retweet #AmazonWeAreNotRobots pic.twitter.com/pBT1ksFgdG
— GMB UNION (@GMB_union) November 23, 2018
In a further update today the GMB
Union said Amazon has not replied to a joint plea, backed by a shadow minister, for a health and safety review to reduce the hundreds of
ambulance call outs to its warehouses.
Two UK MPs wroteto Amazon director of public policy for UK and Irelandlast week to suggest a joint
audit with the union and also a meeting hosted by them in parliament — to discuss the issues
But the union said Amazon has so far failed to respond.
Ahead of tomorrow's protest at Amazon Rugeley, I&m calling on the company to sit
down with @GMB_union to talk about union recognition and decent conditions for Amazon workers
Do the decent thing, or wait for a Labour govt to do it for you
#AmazonWeAreNotRobots @GMBWestMidlands pic.twitter.com/FoU6EgcncK
— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) November 22, 2018
Responding to today
protest action, a spokesman for Amazon UK provided us with the following statement:
Amazon has created in the UK more than 25,000 good jobs
with a minimum of £9.50/hour and in the London area, £10.50/hour on top of industry-leading benefits and skills training
opportunities.
All of our sites are safe places to work and reports to the contrary are simply wrong
According to the UK Government Health and Safety Executive, Amazon has over 40% fewer injuries on average than other transportation and
warehousing companies in the UK
We encourage everyone to compare our pay, benefits, and working conditions to others and come see for yourself on one of the public tours we
offer every day at our centers across the UKuk.amazonfctours.com.
The spokesman declined to respond to additional questions.
In October,
facing risingpolitical pressure on its home turfafter senator Bernie Sanders introduced legislation targeting low rates of pay at the coal
face of Amazon business, the e-commerce giant said it would raise the minimum wage of its US workers to $15 per hour.That change went into
effect at the start of this month.
In another change to its business announcedyesterday, also just before the Black Friday spending binge
kicked off, Amazon reversed a decision that had been triggered by a change in Australian tax law earlier this year, when it had shuttered
store to shoppers in the country to avoid paying a 10 percent levy — deciding to suck up the charge to lift a geoblock that had proved
unpopular with customers.
