Amazon, 40 thousand will stop tomorrow

by time news

(time.news)

Forty thousand workers of Amazon between drivers, workers in hubs and warehouses tomorrow on national strike for 24 hours. Proclaimed by those who adhere to Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl and Uiltrasporti, the stop was created to protest against the breakdown of national negotiations on the renewal of the second level contract and which will lead these workers to cross their arms for the first time, thus interrupting the delivery. of that uninterrupted river of thousands of packages delivered every day. And the workers who will cross their arms for a day launch the appeal to the citizens.


“For a day we want to stop, we have to stop. It is a question of respect for work, of the dignity of workers, of safety for them and for you. For this reason, to win this battle for justice and civilization, we need the solidarity of all customers and all customers of Amazon ”, it reads. And again: “You who receive a service are the people to whom we ask for attention and solidarity, so that it continues to be carried out in the best possible way”, reads the appeal that claims commitment and dedication to these workers.

“The people who, as never before in this last year, have allowed us to receive all types of goods in complete comfort in our homes, the trade unions write to consumers, are on strike. Those and those who deliver the packages, those and those who even earlier prepare it for shipment: about 40,000 workers who never stop. Those and those who, together with you, have allowed the boom in orders and consequently skyrocketed the profits of Amazon, and therefore of turnover, of the entire e-commerce system “.

And if the drivers who physically deliver the goods “work up to 44 hours a week and very often for the whole month” and even deliver 180-200 packages a day, inside the warehouses it is no better.

“We work 8 and a half hours with a lunch break of half an hour, but no verification of the work shifts, not even in the sorting warehouses. No bargaining, no confrontation with the representative organizations on the rhythms of work imposed and for the recognition of trade union rights. No social clause or continuity of employment for drivers in the event of a change of supplier. No indemnity contracted for covid-19, in the constant pandemic “, concluded the appeal.

Genoa, Milan, Piacenza: the protest triangle

Hot day tomorrow that awaits the Amazon workers who for the first time have proclaimed a national strike of 24 hours to protest against the breakdown of negotiations on the renewal of the second level contract which for Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl and Uil Trasporti should provide for the possibility verification of the loads and work rates imposed in the supply chain; the bargaining of work shifts; the reduction of hours for drivers; the social clause and continuity of employment for all in the event of a change of contract or a change of supplier; the Covid indemnity and the performance bonus; and finally a stabilization of fixed-term contracts and temporary workers. Requests that have remained unanswered for now.

And the unions are preparing for the fight: “The national secretariats – reads an internal document sent by Filt Fit and Uiltrasporti to all couriers – if some companies were to support Amazon by making deliveries themselves, the action would be considered anti-union activity , since the situation of ‘replacement of striking workers’ would arise.

Many initiatives have been organized to accompany the national strike. But to turn the spotlight on the protest will be the press conference convened at 9 in Milan by the general secretaries of Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl and Uil Trasporti from Lombardy, Luca Stanzione, Giovanni Abimelech, Antonio Albrizio. The general secretary of Filt Stefano Malorgio will also participate. “The sudden interruption of the negotiations between the unions and Assoespressi due to the unavailability of the employers’ association to positively address the issues posed by the Syndicate adds to Amazon’s inaction on the delivery table”, again accuse the unions who denounce “the absence of answers from the American multinational in relation to the continuation of the discussion, started last January, on employees and on those who work in the contracts of logistics services “.

Six principals organized in the Region from 7 am onwards: in Milan, in Via Vincenzo Toffetti 108 Buccinasco; in Via dell’arteigianato 2, Rovido Industriale (MI); in Mezzate, Via Luigi Galvani 10 (Mi) in Origgio (Va), in Via B. Buzzi; in Burago di Molgora (Mb) in Via Galileo Galilei 15; in Castegnato in Via Pianera Casirate D’Adda (Bg)).

The protest could not be missing in front of what many have renamed ‘the spaceship’, the Piacenza fulfillment center that occupies the space of 14 football fields within a logistics hub: the Amazon Mxp5 warehouse in Castel San Giovanni (Piacenza ) in front of which a garrison and a demonstration will take place from 11.30 to 14.30. An important adhesion, this; this is the first Amazon warehouse in Italy on the outskirts of Piacenza to which the trade contract and not the logistics contract apply.

Presidium, double, instead in Genoa: the appointment is set in Campi at the Amazon center between 9 and 12 am. And also in Lazio, more precisely in front of the Amazon factory in Passo Corese, from 9 to 14.30 , as announced by a note Filt-Cgil Roma Lazio, Fit-Cisl of Lazio and Uil Trasporti Lazio.

Amazon to trade unions: “We certified top employers, competitive wages”

“Competitive wages, benefits and excellent opportunities for professional growth”. It is Amazon that responds to the criticisms of the unions on the eve of the first national strike, also recalling how the company was certified Top Employer, awarded to it for “the quality of the work environment, training opportunities and career plans offered to employees. in Italy”. A certification that covers all Amazon activities in Italy, including those related to the Amazon.it website, logistics activities, Amazon Web Services cloud services, etc., still claims the group.

Therefore competitive wages, lists the e-commerce giant: employees are initially hired at the 5th level of the National Transport and Logistics Contract with an entry salary of 1,550 euros gross per month for full-time employees which includes a package of benefits, from discounts on the Amazon.it site to accident insurance. The couriers, explains Amazon, are hired by delivery service providers always according to the provisions of the Transport and Logistics contract with an entry salary of 1,644 euros gross per month for full-time employees, and in addition to 300 euros. net monthly as a daily allowance.

To this, continues Amazon, the group has provided a bonus as recognition and thanks to employees of the logistics sector and to employees of third-party suppliers for the exceptional work done during the health emergency: two one-off awards of 500 euros are foreseen. during the first phase of the emergency and 300 euros in December, for full-time employees, and a re-proportioned amount if they worked on part-time contracts.

As for the number of parcels to be delivered, Amazon Italia continues, “it is assigned appropriately and is based on the density of the delivery areas (normally couriers make more deliveries for each stop), on working hours, on distance to travel. Amazon assigns routes to delivery service providers who in turn assign them to their couriers based on their working hours.

“We carry out regular checks on the compliance of our delivery service providers, including with regard to remuneration, contributions and the regularity of employment practices”, notes Amazon that in the event of violation of the rules it adopts contractual remedies towards companies ” provided for, including the termination of the contractual relationship “.

As for security and the ongoing epidemic, Amazon recalls having invested over 11.5 billion dollars in 2020 in initiatives related to countering the spread of Covid-19. In Italy alone, more than 230 million units of hand sanitizer, 12 million pairs of gloves, 9 million units of masks, protective visors and other nose and mouth protections were purchased in 2020, and 35 million units disinfectant wipes and we give all our employees the opportunity to regularly and voluntarily perform nasopharyngeal swabs.

“We give couriers the time they need to disinfect their vehicles between stops”, remembers the Group, which provided employees with over 170,000 hours of safety training. As for investments, since its arrival in Italy in 2010, Amazon, he explains again, has invested over 5.8 billion euros, creating more than 9,500 new permanent jobs, of which 2,600 in 2020 alone in over 40 sites scattered throughout the Country. Only in 2020, the company inaugurated two new distribution centers in Castelguglielmo / San Bellino (Rovigo) and Colleferro (Rome), while in 2021 the distribution center in Novara and Cividate al Piano (BG) and the Spilamberto (MO) sorting center with the aim of creating an additional 2,000 jobs over the next three years. In recent years, Amazon has also opened various sorting centers and warehouses across the Peninsula.

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