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Parcel sorting in the Amazon logistics center in Graben: volume increased significantly
Photo: Michaela Rehle / REUTERS
Employees of the online mail order company Amazon in Germany stopped working at six locations when the night shift began on Monday.
The strikes in Werne, Leipzig, Rheinberg, Koblenz and at two locations in Bad Hersfeld are to last up to and including Christmas Eve, as the Ver.di union announced.
She reckons with around 1,700 participants in the strike.
The union demands that Amazon sign the collective agreement for German retailers.
It is a demand that Verdi has been trying to enforce for years in vain.
Ver.di federal board member Stefanie Benefitberger has now said that the extensive closure of shops since last week due to the lockdown in the corona pandemic has led to another significant increase in the number of orders from mail order companies such as Amazon.
Amazon deserves “a golden nose” in the current crisis.
While the US company continues to increase its billions in profits, "it refuses to pay its employees a collective agreement," criticized the union.
Instead, employees would be under even greater pressure because Amazon makes delivery promises despite the extra work.
This is "inevitably at the expense of the health of the workforce, especially now under the conditions of the pandemic."
Amazon stated that the strike actions would not have any impact on deliveries to customers: "The vast majority of employees work normally." Amazon offers an environment "in which one can enjoy working, contribute and be successful," emphasized the US -Group.
In the current lockdown, Amazon is supporting tens of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses in Germany by enabling them to sell their products online.
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mik / dpa
