AMAZON packaging and delivery staff in Madrid have announced strikes affecting 'Black Friday', the December bank holiday, Christmas and the New Year as negotiations over their working conditions and pay have stalled.
Employees at the logistics centre in San Fernando de Henares have been in ongoing disputes with Amazon, through their unions, since March when the firm 'unilaterally imposed' a new and more restrictive working conditions collective agreement after the previous one expired.
The sector-wide agreement which came up for renewal and renegotiation in March included guaranteed pay increases, sick-pay top-ups so that employees off ill would still get their full wages, and more favourable overtime rates and job titles.
Spanish labour law dictates that new working conditions and salary rates cannot be implemented when they are worse than those currently in existence, without a majority vote in favour by employees and their unions.
And no further progress has been made since the San Fernando logistics centre – one of two of these in Spain – went on strike over 'Prime Day' in July.
This time around, centre workers will down tools over November 23 and 24, covering Black Friday; the bank holidays of December 6 and 8 as well as the day in between and the weekend immediately following them, then from December 15 to 30 and January 3, interfering with Christmas and also the Three Kings or Epiphany celebrations when Spanish people give and receive the bulk of their festive presents.
This is likely to hold up deliveries of goods ordered on Amazon.es, and could also affect international Amazon orders where they pass through the San Fernando plant.
Amazon Spain considers the strikes unnecessary, recalling that it has created over 2,000 permanent jobs in the country since 2011 with 'competitive rates of pay' and a 'complete package of employee benefits' including its Career Choice programme, which funds 95% of the cost of any professional training or studying staff wish to undertake.
“We would encourage anyone to come and see for themselves by taking a tour of one of our logistics centres,” says Amazon, which insists it has focused on maintaining 'direct and open dialogue' with its staff.
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