Verdi Chief Verdi: Amazon will never get rid of us | 02/01/22

The fight for collective agreements at internet giant Amazon for Verdi Union continues into the new year.

“As long as there is Amazon and there are no collective agreements with us, the conflict is always of interest,” union president Frank Wernke told German news agency DPA. “Amazon will never get rid of us.” Werneke confirmed that the industrial strike was carried out at various locations as part of the “Black Friday shopping frenzy”.

After some improvements, especially for workers in the camps, the union is currently focusing specifically on the situation of the drivers of the American company in Germany. “In many cases they are hired by subcontractors on very poor terms,” Wernke said. “It starts with pushing and it’s not limited to driving times and breaking regulations.”

Werneke emphasized that Amazon is the largest member of the Retail Employers Association. “At the same time, they refuse to start collective bargaining. In my opinion, this is unacceptable, not even through a federal government.” It was therefore desirable that the new federal government’s coalition agreement had said much about the generally binding nature of collective agreements. “This is a complete void,” Werneke said.

Berlin (dpa-AFX)