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| Amazon workers strike in Germany over pay | Amazon workers strike in Germany over pay |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Employees of the internet giant Amazon are taking strike action in Germany in a long-running pay dispute. | Employees of the internet giant Amazon are taking strike action in Germany in a long-running pay dispute. |
| The Verdi union said workers would strike at Amazon's logistic centres in Bad Hersfeld and Leipzig and also in Graben. The action coincides with the busy Christmas shopping period. | The Verdi union said workers would strike at Amazon's logistic centres in Bad Hersfeld and Leipzig and also in Graben. The action coincides with the busy Christmas shopping period. |
| Amazon employs more than 9,000 workers in Germany. | Amazon employs more than 9,000 workers in Germany. |
| Later on Monday, a delegation of German workers will also protest at Amazon's headquarters in Seattle. | Later on Monday, a delegation of German workers will also protest at Amazon's headquarters in Seattle. |
| The union is planning further action on Tuesday in Germany in the town of Werne. | The union is planning further action on Tuesday in Germany in the town of Werne. |
| Verdi has called a series of strikes this year in an attempt to get the company to accept collective bargaining agreements for its staff. | Verdi has called a series of strikes this year in an attempt to get the company to accept collective bargaining agreements for its staff. |
| It says Amazon is not paying them comparable rates to other warehouse staff in Germany, because the company has classified the staff as logistics workers, whose rates of pay are lower. | It says Amazon is not paying them comparable rates to other warehouse staff in Germany, because the company has classified the staff as logistics workers, whose rates of pay are lower. |
| Amazon says that they are well paid compared with other logistics workers in the country. | Amazon says that they are well paid compared with other logistics workers in the country. |
| The union is also unhappy with what it calls the company's practice of "constant monitoring" of workers and what it says are impossible workplace targets. | The union is also unhappy with what it calls the company's practice of "constant monitoring" of workers and what it says are impossible workplace targets. |
| Last month, an investigation by the BBC's Panorama programme into a UK-based Amazon warehouse found conditions a stress expert said could cause "mental and physical illness". | |
| Prof Michael Marmot was shown secret filming of night shifts involving up to 11 miles of walking at the warehouse - where an undercover worker was expected to collect orders every 33 seconds. | |
| Amazon told the BBC in a statement that worker safety was its "number one priority". |