Since this morning, Amazon Italy workers have gone on strike to ask for salary increases and better working conditions. The strike proclaimed by the main logistics unions of CGIL, CISL, and UIL, and other smaller groups such as the UGL. The strike will last from Friday morning to Saturday morning, covering all the so-called “Black Friday. A day of particularly good discounts in which Amazon expects to make a very high number of deliveries. You will be clear about amazon Walmart target mega strike.
The unions said their goal is to reach a 50 percent adhesion to the strike. Amazon Italy noted that despite the strike, it will still be able to make deliveries regularly. A strike to command higher wages and better working conditions is also underway at Amazon’s six factories in Germany. From this content, you will know why amazon Walmart target mega strike this month. Without further discussion, let’s get started.
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In the province of Piacenza, in the sizeable sorting center of Castel San Giovanni, Amazon employs about 4 thousand people in this period, of which 1,600 with employee contracts (including 500 for an indefinite period). Hundreds of other temporary workers join them, which is called to increase the workforce during peak periods. Unions of all workers, including those in administration, proclaimed the strike, but it is not clear how many will join. The trade unionists themselves admitted that the trade union culture is not very widespread in the company, where the workers are mostly very young, and few have a union card.
In recent days, the newspapers have interviewed several permanent workers who have declared that they are satisfied with the treatment they receive. On the other hand, the trade unions say that the last meetings to discuss working conditions have been very popular. The last one, in which the strike was decided, was attended by 500 of the plant’s 1,600 employees.
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For some time, trade unions and newspaper articles have reported very harsh conditions at the Castel San Giovanni plant. For example, Linkiesta, a year ago, La Stampa, last March, and L’Espresso, talked about it last April. The complaints made to the company concern, in particular. The very intense work with employees forced them to travel up to 20 kilometres every day. To move the various packages from one point to another in the large plant. According to employees and trade unions, managers and department heads exercise rigorous control over the time taken to perform various tasks and breaks, including those to go to the bathroom.
Those who waste time or are slow risk disciplinary reminders and other sanctions, such as moving to departments where work is more uncomfortable. These rhythms and the too repetitive nature of specific tasks would have resulted in injuries and other conditions for many employees, such as back and joint problems, stress, and panic attacks. In August 2015 also theThe New York Times devoted a long and highly critical article to working conditions at its American plants (the article answered two months later by the Amazon vice president ).
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Trade unions and some employees are also calling for an improvement in wage conditions. They argue that the company had seen its earnings grow considerably compared to when it started its business in Italy in 2010. However, employees would not have received benefits from this improvement. According to the newspapers, they paid on average, about 1,450 euros gross per month, i.e., the national contract’s minimum required for the logistics sector.
The company, which has never opened direct negotiations with the unions, has offered a bonus to employees for the Christmas period. Still, the blocks believe it is not enough and instead are asking for a salary increase under the contract.
However, Amazon claims that wages for its workers are among the highest in the industry. Probably because it also includes non-monetary benefits in the calculation. Salvatore Schembri Volpe, director of the plant, told Repubblica today that Amazon employees. In addition to the national contract, receive discounts on the purchase of Amazon products. Additional life insurance policies, and free internal company training courses.
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In short, the company does not want to know about reducing shifts and workloads. Which in recent days have indeed increased. E-commerce is benefiting from the closure of all commercial activities that do not sell basic necessities, even more. Many large-scale retail brands are also banning the purchase of “non-essential” products. Such as stationery items.
But at the Castel San Giovanni plant, workers’ tolerance was now at the limit: “We are in one of the states most impressed by the coronavirus in Italy”, explains Elisa Barbieri, of Filcams CGIL in Piacenza. “Here the alarm went off earlier, given the proximity of the red zone of the Lodi area. For three weeks the employees have been going to work with great concern”.
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In this period, the unions say, there was also a case of contagion among workers and the Torrazza Piemonte plant. But this did not lead to closure. With so many people working in the same spaces, there should be great attention to safety. But the protection measures have been unsatisfactory in recent weeks. We took the protocol as an opportunity to find a new agreement with the company. But Amazon did not give us available ability and asked for time: however, the time is now over”.