Strikes in Europe on Amazon’s Prime Day

Workers in Spain, Germany and Poland plan to walk off the job today as online retailing giant Amazon carries out its major summer sales event called Prime Day.

The walkout at the Amazon packing and distribution centre in San Fernando de Henares, near Madrid, kicked off yesterday and was scheduled to last through tomorrow.

The strike is part of a movement launched in March to obtain an increase in wages, which have not risen since 2016 at the largest Amazon logistics centre in Spain.

Ana Berceruelo of the CCOO union said that about 80% of workers at the site joined the walkout yesterday.

Meanwhile, the German trade union Verdi said that employees in German and Poland would also be striking to protest against their working conditions, which includes long periods of standing, walking long distances and repetitive tasks.

Verdi did not specify how many people it expected to participate in the strikes.

Verdi has been demanding a collective wage agreement for Amazon’s 16,000 workers across Germany since 2013, but the retail giant has refused to engage with the union on the issue.

An Amazon spokeswoman said it was possible to be a fair and responsible employer without offering a collective wage agreement.

The strikes are focused on health policy.

“The message is clear: The online giant is getting rich at the expense of the health of its staff,” said Verdi spokeswoman Stefanie Nutzenberger.

Prime Day, a 36-hour sale which began yesterday, is a major money-spinner for the company.

In Germany, warehouse workers are planning walkouts today in the cities of Leipzig and Koblenz, as well as the towns of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse, Graben in Bavaria, and Rheinberg and Werne in North Rhine Westphalia.

Amazon said it expected only a fraction of its 12,000 workers in Germany to join the strike, and that there would be no impact on Prime Day deliveries.

It also said Amazon fulfilment centre jobs offered competitive pay and comprehensive benefits from the first day of employment.

Permanent staff earn €12.22 ($14.31) an hour or more after two years.

Germany is Amazon’s second largest national market after the United States.