Amazon’s workers in Italy are going on a 24-hour strike to protest working conditions.
Workers in several warehouse facilities, including in Tuscany, Florence and Pisa, are going on a 24-hour strike, the first to impact Amazon’s logistics operations in Italy on a national level, according to CNBC.
The strike comes at a time when Amazon’s importance to the global supply chain is greater than ever, and while the company is facing increased scrutiny and criticism for how it treats its workers. The company has taken aggressive measures to combat unionization, hiring Pinkerton detectives to monitor efforts and going full-court press against unionization in Alabama.
Salvatore Pellecchia, general secretary of trade union FIT-CISL, told CNBC that 75% of Amazon workers in Italy joined the strike, despite many of them being temporary workers, at the most risk of being replaced.
“If Amazon does not change its position, we will be forced to organize another strike,” Pellecchia said in a statement. “Amazon has registered a huge increase in turnover and profits thanks to the pandemic, and now must talk with us to give its employee what they are waiting for.”
The strike is the latest setback for the company, and may encourage other unions to do the same.