Amazon protests in Europe target warehouses, lockers on busy Black Friday

Workers and activists across Europe are gearing up for a series of demonstrations and strikes against e-commerce giant Amazon on Black Friday, marking one of the busiest shopping days of the year. This coordinated effort aims to disrupt Amazon's operations by targeting warehouses and hindering merchandise delivery to Amazon parcel lockers. Black Friday, originally known for in-store sales, has increasingly shifted online, with Amazon playing a significant role in the global shopping event.

In Germany, Amazon's second-largest market by sales in 2022, workers at five fulfillment centers in Bad Hersfeld, Dortmund, Koblenz, Leipzig, and Rheinberg are set to go on a 24-hour strike starting from midnight on Thursday. The primary demand of the strike, organized by the trade union Verdi, is for a collective wage agreement. The union argues that Amazon workers should be entitled to fair wages, while Amazon contends that its employees receive competitive compensation, including a starting salary of over €14 ($15.27) per hour, along with additional benefits. Despite the strike, Amazon assures customers that deliveries of Black Friday orders will remain reliable and timely.

In the United Kingdom, over 1,000 workers at Amazon's warehouse in Coventry will participate in a strike on Black Friday as part of an ongoing dispute over pay. Additionally, trade unionists plan to organize a demonstration at Amazon's UK headquarters in London. While the GMB trade union asserts that the strike could cause disruptions, Amazon's spokesperson in the UK contends that it will not impact the delivery process.

Apart from strikes, Amazon's parcel lockers are becoming a focal point of protests. In France, anti-globalization organization Attac is encouraging activists to affix posters and ticker tape to the lockers, potentially obstructing access for delivery workers and customers. Attac views Black Friday as a celebration of overproduction and overconsumption. Last year, the organization estimated that around 100 Amazon lockers in France were targeted during similar protests.

The activism is not limited to Germany, the UK, and France. In Italy, the CGIL trade union has called for a Black Friday strike at the Castel San Giovanni warehouse. Meanwhile, the Spanish union CCOO has urged Amazon warehouse and delivery workers to stage a one-hour strike during each shift on "Cyber Monday," the concluding day of Amazon's ten-day sale.

The "Make Amazon Pay" campaign, a global initiative coordinated by UNI Global Union, announced that strikes and protests are planned in over 30 countries during the entire Black Friday weekend, emphasizing concerns related to workers' rights, wages, and Amazon's environmental impact. The campaign aims to draw attention to what it perceives as issues requiring addressing within Amazon's global operations.