Amazon employees on strike in Germany

Two of the Amazon distribution centers in Germany had to freeze work as hundreds of employees went on strike for a third time. Workers in Leipzig and Bad Hersfeld staged an all-day strike on Thursday.

This union action is a sequel to two other similar action, one taking place last summer and another on Christmas.

Workers demand that the American company would recognize them as retail and not logistics workers. This change would ultimately lead to a salary increase of at least €1. So far, German Amazon employees are paid between €11.47 and €11.94 an hour.

Jörg Lauenroth-Mago, union representative, stated that the mother company displayed a ‘lack of respect for the excellent work that Amazon employees deliver every day’ and that approximately 40% of the Leipzig workforce is expected to join the movement and then the rest of Germany would soon follow.

However, Amazon rejected the union offer and refuses negotiations, stating that too few employees are taking part in the strike and, overall, business won’t be affected for Amazon. In addition, they also said they reward employees with bonuses which cannot be reflected in a tariff agreement.