Amazon employees strike again on Black Friday

Amazon employees in more than twenty countries are preparing to protest or strike on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Some of the actions will last till Cyber Monday.

From Brazil to Japan

Unions and workers worldwide are joining forces this weekend, from Black Friday (29 November) to Cyber Monday (2 December), as part of the Make Amazon Pay campaign. The campaign, led by Switzerland’s UNI Global Union and Progressive International, includes more than eighty unions and activist groups and is entering its fifth year.

The activists demand fairer working conditions and that the company pay taxes and take on more environmental responsibility. Protests are planned in major cities in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Canada, India, Japan and Brazil.

Petition and strikes

British activists will hand over a petition with more than 110,000 signatures, calling for an end to tax breaks for big companies like Amazon. Last year, Amazon paid corporate tax in the United Kingdom for the first time since 2020, after such a tax break was ended, The Guardian reports.

In Germany, thousands of members of the union Ver.di will strike at several warehouses, including those in Dortmund and Leipzig. ATTAC, a French group promoting tax justice, is organising protests in several cities as well. From its side, Amazon stresses it is proud of the competitive wages and safe working conditions the company claims to provide.