Christmas is approaching, are Amazon warehouse workers going on strike again?

Last Sunday, German trade union Verdi publicly announced that it would urge Amazon warehouse workers across Germany to take strike action in the coming days to express dissatisfaction with pay issues and maximize disruption to the online retailer's sales business before Christmas.

The union said that Germany is currently facing a serious inflation problem, but Amazon has not taken the necessary action in terms of wages, and the wage increase is significantly lower than the inflation level. Therefore, it has called on workers at Amazon's seven distribution centers in Germany to put down their tools and go on strike. It is understood that the strike will be carried out in rotation between different distribution centers.

Amazon said the strike would only affect a few of its 20 logistics centers in Germany and would not affect its Christmas logistics.

It is understood that Germany is Amazon's second largest market after the United States. Since 2013, Verdi has been trying to organize strikes at Amazon's German distribution centers to protest against the poor working conditions faced by its employees.

"Workers at the warehouse are angry and they don't want to be treated like fools by a company that makes billions of dollars a year," the union said .

In addition, the union added that arranging strikes in alternating locations would prevent management from intervening.

It is understood that collective bargaining agreements are widely present in all walks of life in Germany. They are the result of bargaining and negotiation between trade union representatives and employer representatives in the so-called "collective bargaining". Their biggest role is to determine the wage and vacation standards of a certain industry within a certain range (such as region, ownership, etc.) to achieve a balance that satisfies both employers and employees while allowing the industry to continue to develop healthily.

However, Amazon does not recognize collective bargaining agreements in Germany, and Verdi said Amazon employees in Germany earn thousands of euros less per year than employees at companies with collective bargaining rights.

Amazon says it pays its employees well and offers them benefits and training opportunities. Starting salaries are more than 13 euros per hour, including bonuses, and average annual salaries can exceed 35,000 euros after two years.

The union has not yet responded to questions about whether its Amazon employees have voted on strike action.

As Christmas approaches, sellers are in the final sprint to boost sales, and this unexpected incident may disrupt the rhythm of sellers. However, at present, the strike action should not have a large-scale impact, and sellers can wait and see what happens next.

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