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Verdi said in a statement it had called out
workers to strike at a distribution center in Bad Hersfeld,
saying Amazon was increasing order volume and pressure on
workers with special offers ahead of Christmas.
Verdi expects up to 450 workers to join the strike on Monday, a
spokeswoman said. The union said it would keep up the pressure
as long as Amazon did not meet its demands.
Amazon said the vast majority of workers had not walked off the
job and were working hard to meet customer expectations. It said
its deliveries should not be disrupted as it can draw on a
European network of 28 warehouses in seven countries.
The U.S. company employs almost 10,000 warehouse staff at nine
distribution centers in Germany, its second-biggest market
behind the United States, plus more than 10,000 seasonal
workers.
Verdi wants Amazon to raise pay for workers at its distribution
centers in accordance with collective bargaining agreements
across the mail order and retail industry in Germany and has
organized several stoppages since early 2013.
Amazon, however, has rejected the demand, arguing that it
regards warehouse staff as logistics workers and says they
receive above-average pay by the standards of that industry.
(Reporting by Emma Thomasson, editing by Louise Heavens)
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