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Hundreds of Amazon employees from across Germany staged protests on Friday against what trade union representative say are unfair working conditions and the company’s lack of a collective wage agreement.<\/p>\n
Demonstrators marched from two directions to a central rally in a hall in Bad Hersfeld in the state of Hesse. Amazon has two logistics centres in the town.<\/p>\n
They carried banners and signs with slogans like “Even if [Amazon boss] Jeff Bezos doesn’t like it, we want the collective agreement.”<\/p>\n
It’s about “good and healthy work,” employees having input and a legally secure collective agreement, Silke Zimmer of the service sector trade union verdi told the rally.<\/p>\n
According to verdi and the global umbrella organization of the service sector, Uni Gobal, 60 different actions were planned in more than 30 countries on Black Friday.<\/p>\n
Delegations from the US, the UK, Sweden and Italy also took part in the rally in Bad Hersfeld.<\/p>\n
Verdi said that around 550 protesters took part in the central rally in Bad Hersfeld. A spokeswoman said that around 2,000 Amazon employees across Germany took part in protest actions.<\/p>\n
For more than 10 years, verdi has been unsuccessfully demanding that the US company recognize German collective bargaining agreements for the retail and mail order sector and conclude a collective agreement.<\/p>\n
Amazon operates 23 large logistics centres in Germany and argues that it offers its employees fair wages with additional benefits.<\/p>\n
According to verdi, Amazon employees report enormous pressure to perform, and an ever-increasing workload and workplace surveillance which they say creates a climate of fear, especially in the logistics centres.<\/p>\n
Verdi called the strike and rally in Bad Hersfeld the central action of the international #MakeAmazonPayDay campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n