German union takes on Amazon

Ver.di, Germany’s second largest union, which organises in the service sector, is pressing the online sales company Amazon to improve conditions for its 9,000 employees in Germany.

The union wants Amazon to abide by the terms of the national agreement for the retail and distribution sector, which the company is currently not obliged to do.

There has already been a brief warning strike at Bad Hersfeld in West Germany, where 500 of the 3,500 employees demonstrated at the factory gates.

In Leipzig in East Germany, where there are some 2,000 employees, 97% of Ver.di’s 500 plus members have also declared their willingness to strike in an indicative ballot.

Bernard Schiederig, the Ver.di official responsible for Bad Hersfeld, has said the union is willing to talk to Amazon.

However, he added that “we also have the confidence to push through our demands with industrial action”.