DiEM25 stands proudly with the Make Amazon Pay coalition on November 24, the busiest shopping day of the year known as Black Friday, where strikes and protests will take place in over 30 countries as part of the Make Amazon Pay campaign.
This is the fourth year that Make Amazon Pay has organised a global day of action on Black Friday. Previous years have seen thousands of workers go on strike at Amazon facilities throughout Germany, France, Spain, the UK and Italy, garment workers’ took to the streets in Bangladesh, workers in US organised walkouts, among other forms of protest.
Co-convened by UNI Global Union and the Progressive International, Make Amazon Pay brings together over 80 unions, civil society organisations, environmentalists and tax watchdogs including UNI Global Union, the Progressive International, Greenpeace, 350.org, Tax Justice Network and Amazon Workers International.
The campaign is united behind a set of common demands that Amazon pays its workers fairly and respects their right to join unions, pays its fair share of taxes and commits to real environmental sustainability.
“This day of action grows every year because the movement to hold Amazon accountable keeps getting bigger and stronger,” said Christy Hoffman, general secretary of UNI Global Union.
“Workers know that it doesn’t matter what country you’re in or what your job title is, we are all united in the fight for higher wages, an end to unreasonable quotas, and a voice on the job,” she added.
A new report by the US-based National Employment Law Project (NELP), Amazon’s warehouse workers receive significantly lower wages compared to other workers in the sector and considerably less than average earnings in their corresponding U.S. counties.
“From the warehouses in Coventry to the factories of Dhaka, this Global Day of Action is more than a protest. It is a worldwide declaration that this age of abuse must end,” said Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, co-general coordinator of the Progressive International. “Amazon’s globe-spanning empire, which exploits workers, our communities and our planet, now faces a growing globe-spanning movement to Make Amazon Pay.”
DiEM25 in the Netherlands to protest outside Amsterdam Amazon office
DiEM25 in the Netherlands are set to protest in front of the Amazon Web Services office in Amsterdam at 12:00 on Black Friday
Most of Amazon’s profits are not generated by delivering packages but by AWS, which provides data storage and networking for huge companies and government institutions. In 2021, AWS generated 18.5 billion USD in profit or 74 percent of the total profit of everything that Amazon does.
In the same year, Amazon signed a contract with the Israeli military and government to provide dangerous technology that allows for surveillance of and unlawful data collection on Palestinians, and facilitates expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements.
At the same time, AWS is deeply involved in different phases of oil production, focusing on pipelines, shipping, and storage for oil and gas companies.
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