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

recent DELHI — Amazon staff in India have joined strike action calling for better wages and working conditions as the business prepares for one of the busiest shopping periods of the year .

About 200 warehouse workers and delivery drivers rallied in the stake distribution, recent Delhi, under a “Make Amazon Pay” banner. Some donned masks of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and joined hands against the Seattle-based business’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.

There was no immediate statement by Amazon India.

“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 recent Dehli protest. “And the surroundings there is to work under pressure,” he added.

Nitesh Das, a union chief, said the workers took to the streets because they desire the government to receive up their factor.

A statement from the Amazon India Workers Union said similar protests are planned in other parts of India as well as in other countries, including the United States, Germany, Japan, and Brazil. The demonstrations will call on Amazon to pay its workers fairly, regard their correct 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 quick financial expansion, but workers face low wages and challenging working conditions.

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