The employees of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in Germany staged another strike on Thursday as they continue to pressure the management of the world’s largest online retailer to increase their basic pay and provide better benefits.
Second strike this year
According to the Wall Street Journal, the workers of the e-commerce giant at its logistics centers in Leipzig and Bad Hersfeld started the strike in the early shift. This is the second time for the German workers to walk out of their jobs this year.
The workers set up a tent outside the e-commerce giant’s logistic center in Bad Hersfeld with cold drinks and bratwurst grill for their all-day strike. One of the strikers was wearing an Easter Rabbit costume with a sign hanging on her neck with a message, “Respect and fair wages at Amazon!”
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) estimated that less than 650 employees participated in the strike at Leipzeg and Bad Hersfeld. The e-commerce giant has approximately 9,000 employees across Germany. In Bad Hersfeld alone, it has 3,700 workers.
According to trade union Verdi, the good weather encouraged workers to join the strike, but many employees were on their Easter vacation that weighed on the number of strikers this week.
Amazon continues to turndown pay discussions
Verdi negotiator Jörg Lauenroth-Mago said Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) continues to turn down any negotiation regarding pay, which shows that the company lacks respect for the good performance of its employees every day.
The trade union is demanding a basic pay increase from €9.30 per hour to €10.66 per hour for the employees at Leipzig and from €9.83 per hour to €12.18 per hour for the employees at Bad Hersfeld.
Verdi wants Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) to consider its workers under the retail sector instead of logistics sector, and enter into a collective wage agreements for the retail and mail-order sector. However, the e-commerce giant argued that its employees cannot be compared with those working behind cash registers. The company added that the wages and other benefits it is offering are at the upper end of the general wage in the logistics industry.
