Amazon unions from Brazil to Germany plan Black Friday protests

The organisations participating in the protests represent roughly 40,000 Amazon employees, according to a spokesman for the UNI Global Union, which represents millions of workers in industries including logistics and technology, and is helping organise the event. — Seattle Times/TNS

Unions representing tens of thousands of Amazon.com Inc employees are planning walkouts and other action as the year’s busiest shopping season begins this week, in protest at the e-commerce giant’s handling of everything from sick pay and Covid-19 precautions to user privacy.

The giant Verdi trade union in Germany is holding a walkout across seven Amazon facilities, it said in a statement Thursday. It’s part of the Make Amazon Pay campaign, an assemblage of organised labour, human rights organisations, environmentalists and other groups that are demanding changes at the Seattle-based company in a programme of protests and online press conferences.