Amazon Faces The Largest Strike in Its History, Affecting More Than 30 Countries, And Black Friday May Turn Into A Sellers' Day

Recently, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Progress International (PI) jointly organized the "MakeAmazonPay" summit in Manchester, UK. Trade unions and government officials announced that they will be striking in more than 30 countries around the world, including the U.K., on Black Friday this year. The strike action aims to put pressure on Amazon to improve employee treatment and working conditions and provide more protection for labor rights.

The summit, which attracted more than 80 organizations working on labor, tax, climate, data, and racial justice, reportedly brought together more than 400 legislators and thousands of supporters from around the globe, including Spain's Minister of Labor Yolanda Díaz, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, and U.K. Member of Parliament Zarah Sultan, among others. At the summit, they emphasized the seriousness of the worker strike actions Amazon is facing globally and called on Amazon to take action to improve employee welfare and working conditions.

On October 26th, ahead of the summit, Amazon released its third-quarter results, announcing that its profits had tripled to $9.9 billion, or about £8.2 billion. However, behind this figure lie the labor rights issues that Amazon is facing globally. The MakeAmazonPay campaign has organized four global strike actions since 2020. Last year, the MakeAmazonPay coalition organized more than 135 strikes and protests in 35 countries during Black Friday.

At the summit, a spokesman for Progress International said that this year's strike may have the biggest impact to date, which means that Amazon's peak-season order delivery may be even more disruptive. Recently, British media reported that more than 1,000 workers at Amazon's Coventry warehouse have planned a four-day strike in November, including the day of the Black Friday sale.

In fact, since last year, Amazon has faced little let-up in worker strike action around the world.

UK warehouse workers have held multiple strikes.

German warehouse workers launched a strike during Prime Day this year.

Amazon delivery drivers in the U.S. formed the first-ever drivers' union and set up rolling pickets.

A massive protest by hundreds of warehouse workers outside New Delhi, India, forced Amazon to make major concessions.

Bangladeshi garment workers joined with allies around the world to demand that Amazon sign international agreements to protect their safety.

Barcelona, Spain's city council, taxes Amazon for using "free" public space for "last mile" deliveries.

The Minnesota Senate passed the strongest Amazon warehouse worker protection bill in the U.S., and the Irish Senate passed a law prohibiting Amazon from dumping new and unused products.

To summarize, Amazon has faced an unprecedented level of worker strike action around the world. These strike actions have not only had a severe impact on Amazon's business, but they have also highlighted the labor rights issues that Amazon faces globally.

For Amazon, addressing these issues is urgent. Only by taking practical measures to improve employee welfare and the working environment can the company ensure long-term stable development and win the trust of consumers.