Amazon was the target of protests by environmentalists and workers in different parts of the world this Friday (26), including Brazil.
An international coalition, called Make Amazon Pay, has encouraged workers to launch a global strike starting this Friday as a warning sign. Composed of about 40 organizations, including Greenpeace and Oxfam, the mobilization accuses the American group of putting benefits before the well-being of its employees.
The union of unions alleges that the company does not pay enough taxes, neither to support workers nor to contribute with the state funds.
Settaport (Union of Land Employees in Waterway Transport and Operators of São Paulo) joined the mobilization and organized a protest that brought together around 40 people. The group spread a banner with the inscription “Faça a Amazon Pay” on the floor of Praça Mauá, in Santos.
According to the organization, Amazon is responsible for the “precariousness of labor relations, attacks on the environment and the organization of workers”.
In a statement, the company says that “these groups represent a wide range of interests” and that, “although not perfect in any area”, it takes its role and impact very seriously.
It says it is committed to zero carbon emissions by 2040 and to maintaining “competitive wages and benefits, creating new ways to keep them safe and healthy in our network of operations.”
In Brazil, the company says it has created more than 6,000 direct and indirect jobs, “with salaries and benefits competitive to the industry”.
Environmental groups also promoted demonstrations against the company.
Activists from the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion blocked 15 Amazon warehouses across Europe during Black Friday this Friday (26). The world’s largest e-commerce company faces protests from workers and delivery drivers in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Italy.
Climate advocates claim that excessive consumption harms the environment
“Black Friday symbolizes an obsession with overconsumption that is not consistent with a habitable planet,” said the Extinction Rebellion group, after blocking 13 Amazon warehouses across the UK.
In the UK, a federation representing independent retailers estimated that 85% of these small merchants would boycott Black Friday, considered a practice by large groups.
Shutdowns across Europe
Unions in Europe’s biggest economies have also called on warehouse workers and delivery drivers to strike against what they say are unfairly low wages and taxes.
In Germany, the company’s biggest market after the United States, the Verdi union said some 2,500 employees went on strike at Amazon’s shipping centers in Rheinberg, Koblenz and Graben.
In France, one of the country’s main labor unions, CGT, called on Amazon workers in the country to go on strike. The union coalition also reported a strike in Italy.
“The coalition demands that Amazon pay its workers fairly and respect their right to join unions, pay their fair share of taxes and commit to real environmental sustainability,” the “Make Amazon Pay” coalition said in a statement. communicated.
In the Scottish center of Dunfermline, several activists blocked the entry and exit of distribution vehicles, reported the British news agency PA.
“This move aims to expose Amazon’s crimes by making it an example of a broader economic system designed to push us to buy things we don’t need at a price we can’t afford,” Extinction Rebellion said in a statement.
In the Netherlands, activists blocked access to an Amazon warehouse at Amsterdam airport.
According to photos by the Dutch news agency ANP, a dozen people posted photos in front of the shed, demanding on a poster that the company “stop exploiting workers and the planet.”
“Amazon employees are subject to short-term contracts, long working hours, low wages and scheduled bathroom breaks,” the group’s Dutch branch on Twitter denounced.
For the environmental group, known for its spectacular blocking actions, Black Friday symbolizes an obsession with excessive consumption incompatible with a sustainable planet.
Contacted by AFP, Amazon said it works to minimize the impact on its customers through its European network.
“We take our responsibilities very seriously, including our commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040,” said a spokesperson for the group, often criticized for its social and fiscal practices.
Amazon concentrates most attacks on promotional offers offered by many retailers this Friday (26) to launch the holiday shopping season.
(AFP and Paula Soprana collaborated)
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