German labor union Verdi calls out strike for Amazon workers

The workers of an online retailer, Amazon went on strike with demands regarding salary and other benefits.

According to CNN Money, the employees of Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) have been called out for a strike by the German union Verdi just before Christmas time. It is the third consecutive year for the workers to come out on roads to demand better pay and benefits from the company.

But this time, Amazon is going totally against the union's call as it claims that the workers of its company are being benefited with an "attractive" compensation deal. Moreover, the company also made sure that the employee strike won't interrupt the shipment schedule of packages and gifts during its busiest season of the year.

"Our customers can rely on our delivery promise," said Amazon spokesperson Anette Nachbar. "The vast majority of employees do not participate in the industrial action... The rest are working at full speed."

Verdi mentioned in a statement that six out of nine Amazon warehouse employees are participating in the strike which is scheduled till Dec. 24, as reported by Reuters. The strike will be held at four of the centers and for a shorter time span at the others.

After the United States, Germany is labeled as the largest sale market of Amazon. It accommodates around 10,000 warehouse staff, in addition to more than 10,000 seasonal workers.

But an Amazon spokeswoman said, "There is absolutely no impact on our customer delivery promise. The vast majority of our employees are working," she said, noting that Amazon uses a network of 29 warehouses across Europe to fulfill orders.

Since May 2013, Verdi has called out strikes at Amazon. It has aimed to pressurize the online retailer to increase the salary of the employees engaged, in accordance with collective bargaining agreements in Germany's mail order and retail industry.

On Monday, Verdi claimed that the workers of Amazon have faced high pressure, strict workplace controls, sickness rates and arbitrary decisions, which includes shortening of annual holidays at the Leipzig warehouse from previous 29 days to 28 days.

The union demands an increase of wage to 12.96 euros per hour, as mentioned by Bidness ETC. However, Amazon does not list its German workforce under retail and pays two euros less, which is an acceptable basic wage in the logistics sector.

The tech giant has also opened warehouses in neighboring countries Poland and Czech Republic. However, the monthly wage of the employees engaged there is as less as an only quarter of what is earned in Germany.