Protesters are hoping to draw consumers’ attention to Amazon’s labour issues
Amazon workers worldwide are up in arms to demand better working conditions at the e-commerce giant’s fulfilment centres – and they’re mounting their protests right as Amazon Prime Day rolls in.
Activist employees, union organisers and tech workers are coming together to speak out against Amazon during the two-day sales event, which rakes in US$6.1bn in sales for the online retailer.
Protesters are hoping to draw consumers’ attention to the labour concerns warehouse workers face, from having limited bathroom breaks to being forced to meet high quotas of shipments.
“Amazon workers are sending a powerful message to Jeff Bezos this Prime Day: It's time to stop putting profits ahead of people,” Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, said in a statement.
Demonstrations are set to be held in the US, UK, Germany, Spain and Poland, Quartz reported.
The online retailer has issued a statement criticising the protesters for “conjuring misinformation”.
“If these groups—unions and the politicians they rally to their cause—really want to help the American worker, we encourage them to focus their energy on passing legislation for an increase in the federal minimum wage, because $7.25 is too low,” Amazon said.
