The 24-hour strike was called by various unions after negotiations over job contract revisions between the workers’ representatives and the US retail giant broke down.
According to the unions, Amazon’s delivery network in Italy relies on 40,000 workers, including those working for the company’s own logistical unit, which employs the majority of its 9500 staff who are on full-time contracts.
The main points unions raised relate to workloads, long working hours for drivers, results-linked bonuses, payments for travel, lunch vouchers and stabilising temporary contracts.
Unions also argue that workers should have been paid extra for having continued to work during the coronavirus pandemic, especially as the period marked a spike in Amazon orders.
Last year, around one-third of staff working at an Amazon delivery station in central Italy went on strike over requests for enhanced safety measures for workers amid the coronavirus health emergency.
In a letter to customers, Mariangela Marseglia, Amazon’s manager in Italy, wrote that the company “respects the right of everyone to express their position”, adding that the company “puts our employees and those of third-party suppliers first” by offering them “a safe, modern and inclusive work environment, with competitive wages that are among the highest in the sector”.
