Amazon Black Friday Protests: Staff In More Than 40 Countries To Go On Protest During Black Friday Sales
As per reports, thousands of warehouse staff and other workers at Amazon are planning to go on a Black Friday Sales strike
As per a report by Bloomberg, thousands of warehouse workers at Amazon across as many as 40 countries across the world are set to go on strikes and protests on the day of Black Friday Sales, which is one of the busiest times for Amazon all year round. As per the report, Amazon employees across the United States, United Kingdom, India, India, Australia, Japan, South Africa and many other countries will go on strikes and protests to demand higher wages and improved working conditions. These protests come as a result of the high inflation and rise in the cost of living that has happened over the past few years while the wages for Amazon workers have not kept up with the rising costs and inflation, making it difficult for employees to even cover their basic expenses.
This worldwide campaign by Amazon workers is being carried out with the tagline ‘Make Amazon Pay’ and is being led by an international collaboration of various trade unions, along with the support of environmental and civil society organisations. As per Athena, a group that’s pressing for worker rights, Amazon employees at a company warehouse in St. Peters, Missouri plan to stop working on the day of Black Friday Sales. Similar protests and labour actions are also planned at Whole Foods stores, a brand owned by Amazon as well as other warehouses in locations like Bessemer, Alabama; Columbia, Maryland; Detroit, Michigan; Durham, North Carolina; Garner, North Carolina; Joliet, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; and Washington, D.C. A group of activists and Amazon workers are also reportedly planning to protest in front of one of the residences owned by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, in New York City.
"On Black Friday, in what has already been named #MakeAmazonPay day, unions, civil society and progressive elected officials will stand shoulder to shoulder in a massive global day of action to denounce Amazon's despicable multimillion-dollar campaigns to kill worker-lead union efforts. It's time for the tech giant to cease their awful, unsafe practices immediately, respect the law and negotiate with the workers who want to make their jobs better."-said Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union, a group leading the protests, said in a statement.
As per Bloomberg, Monika di Silvestre, an official with Ver.di, a German labour group that is helping organise the ‘MakeAmazonPay’ campaign said that the workers at Amazon are specifically concerned about Amazon’s use of computer systems to monitor the workers’ productively.
"The workers are under a lot of pressure with these algorithms. It doesn't differentiate between workers, whether they are old or have limited mobility. Workers stay awake at night thinking only of their productivity stats."-said Monika di Silvestre, an official with Ver.di
Another major concern for Amazon workers is hazardous working conditions. According to a report by the Strategic Organising Centre, a coalition of unions, Amazon employed nearly one-third of all warehouse workers in the United States but was responsible for almost half (49%) all injuries caused in the warehouse sector in the US. Amazon continues to face increasing pressure from worker groups that are seeking to unionise against the corporate giant.