German trade union Verdi has called on Amazon employees to lay off work for several days from Monday. The strike coincides with bargain fest Amazon Prime Day, one of the busiest periods of the year for the online giant.
During Prime Day - which this year takes place on 21 and 22 June - Amazon throws a large part of its range on sale. Verdi sees this as the perfect time to force better pay and working conditions.
The German union called for a strike at seven of Amazon's German warehouses on Monday morning. The action will start on Monday evening and end on Wednesday. It is not yet known how many employees will lay down work and whether the actions will affect delivery in the Netherlands.
Years of struggle
Verdi has been at loggerheads with Amazon since 2013. Around the holidays, the union regularly calls for actions to draw attention to working conditions at Amazon. The union believes that the web giant's high profits are not reflected in employees' wages. Staff are said to have gotten a lot busier in recent years, but are not paid a penny extra for it.
Amazon, meanwhile, does not seem to be awake to the call. The US company stresses that during previous strike calls, 90 per cent of workers in distribution centres continued to work as usual. It also says it offers excellent pay and working conditions.
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