Alex Trelinski
AMAZON SPAIN logistics centre staff and delivery drivers have asked to go on strike for an hour on each of the three shifts covering ‘Cyber Monday’- November 27 and 28.
The CCOO union has described it as ‘symbolic’ protests due to the ‘insufficient protection of occupational health suffered by the workforce as well issues with human resource management and salaries that don’t reflect the responsibilities or demands set up by the company’.
It would be the first nationwide strike called within Amazon in Spain, though there have been isolated incidents of industrial action at individual centres.
The CCOO claimed there had been ‘countless complaints’ about the firm’s lack of recognition about the ‘presumption of employment’ or staff suffering from work-related illnesses.
It added that Amazon is ‘hiding’ possible safety measure failures while it says that the company’s HR department is too slow to deal with payroll problems and leave applications.
The CCOO concluded that Amazon pays the bare minimum wages ‘of the sector in each province’.
The international operator said in a statement: “Our teams across Spain already work in a modern and safe environment with competitive salaries and benefits.”
“Employees with entry-level salaries earn at least €1,400 per month and have opportunities to grow and develop their careers,” it added
“Employees and their families have comprehensive benefits that we invest thousands of euros more in per year, including private health and life insurance, paid meals, extended paid paternity leave, and employee discounts,” the statement concluded.
Amazon has expanded greatly in Spain over recent years with logistics outlets for its e-commerce business and data centres to support its cloud computer unit, Amazon Web Services.
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