Thousands of Amazon employees are set to strike or protest across more than 20 countries during the Black Friday to Cyber Monday shopping period, pressing for improved workers’ rights and environmental commitments from the American retail giant.
The coordinated action, scheduled between 29 November and 2 December during one of retail’s busiest weekends, will see workers and union representatives demonstrating against the Seattle-based company’s practices.
The Make Amazon Pay campaign, which comprises more than 80 trade unions and advocacy groups including UNI Global Union and Progressive International, is orchestrating demonstrations in major cities throughout the US, Germany, UK, Turkey, Canada, India, Japan, Brazil and other nations.
The campaign demands that Amazon, founded by Jeff Bezos—the world’s second-wealthiest individual—improve worker pay and union rights, meet its tax obligations, and strengthen environmental commitments.
In the UK, protesters will gather outside Amazon’s London headquarters on Bishopsgate, where tax justice campaigners will present a petition bearing over 110,000 signatures before marching to 11 Downing Street. The petition urges the chancellor to eliminate tax advantages for Amazon UK and other large corporations.
Amazon’s primary UK division recently paid corporation tax for the first time since 2020, following the expiration of a “super-deduction” tax break introduced during Rishi Sunak’s premiership.
German industrial action will involve thousands of Ver.di union members striking at seven warehouses nationwide, whilst French activists from ATTAC will stage demonstrations across multiple cities.
Amanda Gearing, GMB senior organiser, said: “Here in the UK Amazon represents everything that is broken about our economy. Insecure work, poverty wages and often unsafe working conditions: GMB will not let these shape the world of work for the next decade”.
UNI Global Union General Secretary Christy Hoffman said: “Amazon’s relentless pursuit of profit comes at a cost to workers, the environment and democracy. Bezos’s company has spent untold millions to stop workers from organising, but the strikes and protests happening around the world show that workers’ desire for justice – for union representation – can’t be stopped”.
An Amazon spokesperson responded: “These groups represent a variety of interests, and while we’re always listening and looking at ways to improve, we remain proud of the competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and engaging, safe work experience we provide our teams.”
The company maintains it leads global renewable energy procurement and matched all electricity consumption with renewable sources last year. It cites a minimum UK starting salary of £28,000 annually for four-day week shifts.
However, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice argues the company lacks interim targets for its 2040 net-zero emissions goal, noting corporate carbon emissions have risen by 34.5% since 2019.
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