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Amazon's Black Friday: Unions to join protests

November 25, 2022 12:56 IST

Employees in the US, the UK, India, Japan, Australia, South Africa and across Europe are demanding better wages and working conditions as the cost-of-living crisis deepens.

Sourabh Lele reports.

Amazon

Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters

Several Indian traders, hawkers, as well as transport and gig workers’ unions will join a global campaign by Make Amazon Pay coalition happening across close to 40 countries on Black Friday to protest alleged exploitative practices by the tech giant.

Employees in the US, the UK, India, Japan, Australia, South Africa and across Europe are demanding better wages and working conditions as the cost-of-living crisis deepens, as part of the campaign.

Trade unions, including Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal, Hawkers’ Joint Action Committee, Gig Workers’ Association, and All India People Science Network, will join the campaign.

 

The main demands include minimum wages of at least Rs 25,000, reducing minimum working hours, fixed-term contracts, and better working conditions, sources said.

Parminder Jeet Singh, executive director at IT for Change, which will take part in the protest in New Delhi, said protests will take place in 23 cities.

“Amazon has become a global giant exercising a completely new model of exploitation.

"It is a prototype and the main sign of a new kind of global corporation which remotely controls all activities of a sector.

"It becomes a new paradigm of granular control, which creates exploitative conditions for workers and traders,” said Parminder Jeet Singh, executive director at IT for Change – one of the organisations participating in the protest happening in New Delhi.

“The big techs like Amazon control the complete chain starting from manufacturers, traders, logistic providers, warehouse keepers, to dark stores.

"The companies track and hyper calculate all actions of the workers using data-based intelligence and information symmetries they use,” Singh added.

Sourabh Lele
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