Amazon workers in India join Black Friday strike action for better wages and working conditions

NEW DELHI (AP) — Amazon staff in India have joined strike action calling for better wages and working conditions as the company prepares for one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.

About 200 warehouse workers and delivery drivers rallied in the capital, New Delhi, under a ``Make Amazon Pay” banner. Some donned masks of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and joined hands against the Seattle-based company’s practices.

The walkout on Black Friday, which starts one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year, was repeated at Amazon warehouses in other countries as workers called for higher wages, better working conditions, and union rights.

"Our basic salary is 10,000 rupees ($120), which should be at least 25,000 rupees ($295)," said Manish Kumar, 25, a warehouse worker who joined the New Dehli protest. "And the environment there is to work under pressure,” he added.

Nitesh Das, a union leader, said the workers took to the streets because they wanted the government to take up their cause.

Amazon, in a statement issued in India, accused the workers of "intentionally misleading and continuing to promote a false narrative."

`` Our facilities are industry-leading and provide competitive pay, comfortable working conditions, and specially designed infrastructure to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for all,” the company said.

``We’ve created more than 1.5 million jobs around the world, and counting, and we provide a modern, safe, and engaging workplace whether you work in an office or at one of our operations buildings.''

A statement from the Amazon India Workers Union said similar protests are planned in other parts of India and in other countries, including the United States, Germany, Japan, and Brazil. The demonstrations will call on Amazon to pay its workers fairly, respect their right to join unions, and commit to environmental sustainability, it said.

The union said it would submit a memorandum highlighting its demands to India’s Labor Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

The gig economy has become huge in India due to its fast economic growth, but workers face low wages and difficult working conditions.

India’s National Human Rights Commission sent a notice to Amazon in June 2023 after local media reports that workers were being made to work without breaks during the peak hot summer season. Amazon India denied the charge.