The fight for collective agreements at the online giant Amazon continues for the Verdi union in the new year. "As long as there is Amazon and no collective agreements are concluded with us, the conflict will always remain topical"said the chairman of the union, Frank Werneke, the German press agency. "Amazon will never get rid of us again." Also within the
"Black Friday shopping frenzy madness" Werneke emphasized that industrial action had been carried out at various locations.
After some improvements, especially for the workers in the camps, the union is currently focusing specifically on the situation of the drivers of the US company in Germany. "Often they are employed by subcontractors on really blatantly poor terms"said Werneke.
"It starts with payment and doesn’t stop with driving times and break regulations."
Werneke emphasized that Amazon is the largest member of the retail employers’ association. "At the same time, they refuse to enter into collective bargaining. From my point of view, that is unacceptable, not even through a federal government." It would therefore have been desirable for the coalition agreement of the new federal government to have said much more about the generally binding nature of collective agreements. "This is a complete blank"said Werneke. (dpa)