“Make Amazon Pay:” Worldwide protests planned for busy holiday shopping weekend

According to the union, Amazon workers plan to strike over working conditions and wages from Black Friday through Cyber ​​Monday, one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

Workers around the world are protesting under the slogan “Make Amazon Pay,” a walkout organized by the UNI Global Union and Progressive International.

“Amazon’s relentless pursuit of profits comes at the expense of workers, the environment and democracy,” Christy Hoffman, general secretary of UNI Global Union, said in a statement.

“Bezos’ company has spent untold millions to discourage workers from organizing, but the strikes and protests around the world show that workers’ desire for justice – for union representation – cannot be stopped,” Hoffman said, referring to on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who is worth about $220 billion.

“We collectively demand that Amazon treats its employees fairly, respects fundamental rights and stops undermining the systems designed to protect us all,” Hoffman continued.

On Friday, about 200 warehouse workers and delivery drivers walked off the job in New Delhi, many of them wearing Bezos masks and holding hands in solidarity.

“Our basic salary is 10,000 rupees ($120), which should be at least 25,000 rupees ($295),” Manish Kumar, 25, a warehouse worker who joined the protest in New Delhi, told the Associated Press .

“And it’s an environment where you can work under pressure,” he added.

Organizers said protests were planned in 20 countries, including the United States, Germany, Japan, Brazil and the United Kingdom, and would include union workers and anti-poverty and garment workers’ rights groups.

It is the fifth year of “Make Amazon Pay” demonstrations “to hold Amazon accountable for labor abuses, environmental destruction and threats to democracy,” the union said.

In a statement, Amazon accused the union of promoting a “false narrative.”

“The fact is that at Amazon we offer great pay, great benefits and great opportunities from day one. We have created more than 1.5 million jobs around the world and counting, and we provide a modern, safe and engaging workplace, whether you do that.” “We don’t work in an office or in one of our operational buildings ” Spokeswoman Eileen Hards said in a statement to ABC News.