Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) faces employee issues – workers walk out in Germany

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By Thomas Copeland on September 23, 2014 Intl News

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a world renowned e-commerce business. It is by far the largest internet based company in the world. Despite having all these attributes, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has not been able to retain its workers for the third time in the year 2014. Workers are literally walking out of the company, this time in Germany.

Like all over the world, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) has divisions working in Germany at different locations. It is heading almost nine administrative offices; retaining 9,000 permanent and 14,000 temporary staff. It was reported that a few workers walked out from Bad Hersfeld on Sunday night and still more workers marched out from three separate locations all over Germany. The report also stated that these walkouts are programmed and are supposed to end on Tuesday night 10 p.m. local time.

The workers associate themselves with the Verdi labor union. They have planned these walkouts in order to persuade the company to talk about and negotiate their working order. The workers are hoping to re-categorize the store jobs. They want to reorder the administrative jobs and classify them as mail order and retail jobs. The major explanation behind this re-classification is the fact that mailers and retailers are paid more than logistic departments. Those who walked out are demanding better job titles with better pays.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) on the other hand is taking a rigid stance on everything. They are opting for a no talk and no bargain strategy. The Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) officials are not making any official statements on the recent employee depletion chart. The company has clearly stated that the logistics department is being paid on the basis of average salary and thus it is more than enough for their job description.

The union on the other hand has a different story to tell; it says that that negotiations are being carried out with the Amazon Corporation (NASDAQ:AMZN). According to the union members, it is reported that workers have been offered an increase between 2.1% – 3% in their wages and have been asked to return to their jobs. Union leaders are demanding that this increase be applied across the board. Union has also revealed a very startling fact that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is paying several hundred Euros less to its logistics workers per month. This amount can easily be raised and increased if the logistics department could be converted into retailer outlets.

This is not the first time for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN); the company had to deal with similar issues last year as well. Last year the company’s strategy was to provide workers with handsome holiday bonuses and additional benefits. The union members are only ready to deal with their German counterparts. There is an obvious rift between the union representatives and the Amazon Corporation (NASDAQ:AMZN). It is company’s official policy not to deal directly with unions in any county. However, according to rumors, there is a possibility that the company may change this policy in the future, but nothing can be said for sure regarding this issue.