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Germany’s Amazon workers reject ‘logistics’ label and demand more pay
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Employees of online retailer Amazon are on strike in the German town of Bad Hersfeld and the city of Leipzig.
When balloted by labour union ver.di in April, 97 percent of the company’s 9,000 workers in Germany voted in favour of industrial action.
Employees are arguing their wages should be in line with what’s paid in Germany’s retail sector, rather than the lower pay common in the logistics sector, which is what they currently receive.
Amazon maintains the workers are primarily doing a logistics job by packing and mailing. The company says it pays on the upper end of that scale.
“The strike is happening for a lot of reasons. It’s about working conditions here, which need to be improved. The salaries we’re paid don’t correspond with what we’re entitled to. We had a considerable impact on setting this up and we receive very little,” said Amazon employee Markus Herd.
An agreement may not be reached anytime soon, according to ver.di representative Heiner Reimann, who said:
“We’re counting on a dispute that could last for a while. Amazon, so far, has shown that they are unwilling to negotiate. They are willing to talk, but unwilling to actually negotiate. So we are preparing for open-ended industrial action,” Reimann said.
Germany is Amazon’s second biggest market behind the US, and just ahead of the UK and Japan.
More about: Amazon, Germany, Strike
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Philippines: Estrada elected mayor of Manila
Ousted as the president of the Philippines more than a decade ago, Joseph Estrada has been elected mayor of the capital, Manila.
A movie-star turned politician, Estrada became president in 1998, but was overthrown in 2001 in the midst of a corruption trial. He was later convicted, then pardoned.
Estrada told supporters he was delighted they had given him their “trust and confidence” again.
Manila resident Bong Lapera said: “Yes, he was convicted before, but his service to the Filipino people has been proven – especially to the poor.”
The 76-year-old has said he wants to dedicate the last years of his life to serving Manila – pledging to focus on poorer areas.
More about: Municipal elections, Philippines
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A new proposal recently delivered to French President Francois Hollande aims to create new sources of revenue from tech giants like Amazon, Apple and Google. If passed, the legislation would create a one percent tax on the sale of all Internet-connected devices in the country to help fund cultural-based projects. … Read More
