|
 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.
[to top of second column] |
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)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
