Amazon has made a breakthrough deal with most of its workers in Spain. This move avoided the full impact of the strike scheduled during Cyber Monday, one of the busiest days for online shopping.
Reuters stated that this has been confirmed by the local union group CCOO and Amazon.
Before the deal, about 20,000 people working in Amazon’s warehouses and delivering packages in Spain were going to strike for one hour per shift. The workers wanted to strike to demand better pay and working conditions.
But now, only 5,000 Amazon delivery workers will strike for the last hour of their workday. They still think Amazon’s offer isn’t good enough, said Douglas Harper, leader of CCOO, the biggest union for Amazon workers in Spain.
In an email, Amazon said that most of its workers will keep working normally, so customers won’t see any problems. The company also said it’s proud of the pay, benefits, and safer working conditions it will provide to its Spanish employees.
Resolution in Spain
After 14 hours of negotiations, this is what CCOO explained to be the next steps following this agreement being reached:
- A new Work Accident Management Procedure is to be negotiated with the Occupational Health and Safety team of each work center;
- Commitment to implementing methods and resources to improve the support and response of the payroll management service;
- A series of measures to reduce payroll incidents;
- Extraordinary process to provide a solution to serious cases of payroll incidence, with prompt payment within 5 business days.
The statement, published on Instagram, also detailed that the CCOO had to take the issue of insufficient salaries out of the negotiation, since Amazon refused to engage about this in any way with the union representatives. The union outlined that it continues to discuss the matter with Amazon.
Global Strike Movements
Amazon workers in different countries have been unhappy about their working conditions. Recently, on Black Friday, workers and groups from several European locations tried to disrupt Amazon’s business.
Coordinated by the UNI Global Union under the “Make Amazon Pay” campaign, the strikes and protests spanned over 30 countries.
Black Friday, initially characterized by large in-store crowds in the U.S., has increasingly shifted online and expanded globally, partly due to Amazon. This year, Amazon promoted holiday discounts from Nov. 17 to Nov. 27.
In Germany, Amazon’s second-biggest sales market last year, the Verdi trade union said around 2,000 workers struck at six Amazon centers. About 500 workers in Rheinberg and 250 in Leipzig went on strike, which is a big part of the workforce there.
An Amazon spokesperson in Germany said that only a few workers were striking. They said Amazon pays well, starting at over 14 euros (approximately $15) an hour. They also said Black Friday deliveries would be on time.
In England, over 200 workers at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse were striking for better pay and conditions. Nick Henderson, a worker there, said they want a pay rise to 15 pounds (approximately $18) an hour.
An Amazon UK spokesperson said they pay at least 11.80 pounds to 13 pounds an hour (approximately $15 to $16), depending on the location. This will go up to 12.30 to 13 pounds an hour from April 2024 (approximately $16 to $17).
Even with these protests, Amazon said that people who ordered things on Black Friday would still get their packages on time and without problems.