German Trade Union Threatens To Go On Strike If Amazon Doesn't Approve Salary Increase Demands

JAKARTA - German trade union Verdi on Sunday, October 31 asked employees to strike at seven different Amazon locations because of a case over a protracted salary dispute.

The strike is planned to start on Monday, November 1 at some distribution centers and will last until Tuesday, a spokesman said.

Amazon said in a statement that it already offers excellent salaries, benefits, and career opportunities.

"No one here earns less than 12 euros (Rp197,000) gross per hour plus extra money," the company added.

Without giving exact figures, Verdi has demanded that Amazon raise wages in line with agreements the union has reached with the wider retail and postal order industry in Germany.

If this strike did happen, it would be a huge loss for Amazon to face, because the distribution of goods would be disrupted.

On the other hand, this strike reinforces the idea of using robots as workers, because robots don't demand a raise as humans do.