Amazon Spain strike will hit Black Friday deliveries

On November 27 and 28, workers at the e-commerce giant will strike against what they consider to be insufficient protection of their occupational health, as well as wages that do not recognise the demands set by the company.

Black Friday, one of the busiest commercial days of the year for online retailers, will take place on Friday, November 24. With the strikes set for the following Monday and Tuesday, this is likely to have a massive effect on deliveries.

In its statement to the company, the union claims to have verified with the Labour Inspectorate that, “the system of Accident and Incident Management implemented by Amazon, is hiding possible failures in safety measures”.

Paid the minimum but have to give the maximum

As for wages, the union accuses Amazon of paying the minimum wages for the sector in each province and, although it recognises that some improvements have been made, “in no case does it compensate for what it demands of us every day”, since, “(the company) demands that we give the maximum and receive the minimum”.

The striking workers number around 20,000 in Spain and it is the first national strike to be called in the company. The union said that there are “countless” complaints about the company’s failure to recognise various health injuries suffered as a possible cause of the work.

Outsourcing has made things worse

The company’s human resources departments at each centre, “have fewer and fewer resources to carry out their mission properly and, in addition, the outsourcing of several of their processes has significantly worsened the support provided by Amazon”, the union added.

Amazon responded to the union, “Our teams across Spain are already working in a modern, safe environment with competitive wages and benefits. Entry-level employees earn at least €1,400 a month and have opportunities to grow and develop their careers,” the company said. And they add that, “employees and their families have comprehensive benefits in which we invest thousands of euros more per year, including private medical and life insurance, paid meals, extended paid paternity leave and employee discount”.

Are Christmas deliveries uncertain?

The union has urged Amazon to hold, as soon as possible, meetings with the unions with a view to avoiding further strikes in the middle of the Christmas shopping period. However, they also confirmed that they will take whatever measures “they consider necessary” if the results “are not satisfactory” after the meetings with the company representatives, which is why they do not rule out the call for one or more 24-hour strike days from December 15 to 31.

Will your Christmas shopping be affected by the Amazon strike?