Black Friday: Amazon Workers Stage Protests Across Europe Demanding Fair Pay

Amazon warehouse workers and delivery drivers stage a protest across Europe, demanding fair pay and respect for their rights to join unions.

These protests immensely affected the Black Friday sales, for which people wait every year. 

The day after Thanksgiving became famous in the United States, it is a common term for the Friday following Thanksgiving Day. It customarily denotes the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the United States. 

Many stores offer sale deals exceptionally at the lowest costs and open early; in some places, they open at midnight or even on Thanksgiving Day (November 25). The day after Thanksgiving has always been the most hectic shopping day in the United States, beginning around 2005. Other nations around the world soon followed the tradition.

The protest is essential for a more extensive worldwide dissent coordinated by the Make Amazon Pay group. The alliance of associations, taxpayers and climate activists has called for a rally in 22 nations throughout the globe, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. 

An Amazon representative stated that the groups had various interests, and keeping in mind that the organization was “somewhat perfect in any space”, it was playing its part and impact severely. 

“We are investing in a large quantity in the regions, assuming a huge part in addressing environmental change with the Climate Pledge to achieve zero carbon by 2040, proceeding to offer competitive wages and extraordinary benefits, and concocting better ways to keep our workers protected,” the representative added. 

Workers in the UK, the US, and the EU gathered and staged demonstrations on November 26 as the retail companies got ready for Black Friday. 

“Amazon has made profit amid the pandemic, and it can stand to improve,” stated Mick Rix from the GMB Union. “It’s the ideal opportunity for Amazon to discuss with labourers’ association GMB and make Amazon a safe work environment.”