Amazon & Post Office staff vote to strike over Christmas

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Amazon employees in Germany and Post Office workers in Manchester will be striking over the Christmas period.

From 12:30pm on 24th December 2015, 20 ‘Crown’ Post Office branches could be affected by the strike, the Manchester Evening News reports.

The Communication Workers Union members balloted to strike earlier this month after bosses requested that they work until 4pm on Christmas Eve. Previously, members of staff had been allowed to go home at lunch time, but were paid until 5:30pm.

To make up for the change, employees have been offered a good will payment of £50.

Roger Gale, General Manager at Post Office Crown Network, said: “We hope that people working in Crown branches will put our customers first and choose not to take strike action.

“The vast majority of our 11,500 branches will be unaffected if strike action takes place and we have contingency plans to keep the majority of Crown branches open so customers can pick up their parcels, withdraw cash and access other Post Office services.

“We recognise this would be a change to the usual working patterns so we are offering time off in lieu, as well as a payment to thank them for their efforts.”

After the USA, Germany is Amazon’s second-biggest market. The strike, organised by the union Verdi, concerns a long-running disagreement over pay and conditions.

Verdi says that Amazon employees suffer from excessive pressure, rigid workplace controls, high sickness rates and arbitrary decisions; for example, the Leipzig warehouse has seen a cut in annual holidays from 29 days to 28, Reuters reports.

Six of the country’s nine warehouses will be affected. The industrial action will continue until Christmas Eve at four branches, and for shorter periods at others. During previous strikes, hundreds of workers have joined, and a similar figure is anticipated this time around.

Amazon rejects the union’s demands, saying warehouse staff are logistics workers.

An Amazon spokeswoman said: “There is absolutely no impact on our customer delivery promise. The vast majority of our employees are working.”

[rambo1]

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Amazon employees in Germany and Post Office workers in Manchester will be striking over the Christmas period.

From 12:30pm on 24th December 2015, 20 ‘Crown’ Post Office branches could be affected by the strike, the Manchester Evening News reports.

The Communication Workers Union members balloted to strike earlier this month after bosses requested that they work until 4pm on Christmas Eve. Previously, members of staff had been allowed to go home at lunch time, but were paid until 5:30pm.

To make up for the change, employees have been offered a good will payment of £50.

Roger Gale, General Manager at Post Office Crown Network, said: “We hope that people working in Crown branches will put our customers first and choose not to take strike action.

“The vast majority of our 11,500 branches will be unaffected if strike action takes place and we have contingency plans to keep the majority of Crown branches open so customers can pick up their parcels, withdraw cash and access other Post Office services.

“We recognise this would be a change to the usual working patterns so we are offering time off in lieu, as well as a payment to thank them for their efforts.”

After the USA, Germany is Amazon’s second-biggest market. The strike, organised by the union Verdi, concerns a long-running disagreement over pay and conditions.

Verdi says that Amazon employees suffer from excessive pressure, rigid workplace controls, high sickness rates and arbitrary decisions; for example, the Leipzig warehouse has seen a cut in annual holidays from 29 days to 28, Reuters reports.

Six of the country’s nine warehouses will be affected. The industrial action will continue until Christmas Eve at four branches, and for shorter periods at others. During previous strikes, hundreds of workers have joined, and a similar figure is anticipated this time around.

Amazon rejects the union’s demands, saying warehouse staff are logistics workers.

An Amazon spokeswoman said: “There is absolutely no impact on our customer delivery promise. The vast majority of our employees are working.”

Seems to me the post office deal was pretty good, how on earth did it go to a strike. They used to get a five hr flyer on Xmas eve!!! Wake up to the real world