“This is the fight of our time” organisations unite in bid to make change at the Make Amazon Pay Summit

The first ever summit was held at the Manchester Mechanics Institute over the weekend in attempt to call out the company for the way they treat their workers.

The Summit

Organisations from all over the world gathered in demand for justice for Amazon workers who have received unfair treatment and pay for their work.

Christy Hoffman, the general secretary of the Uni Global Union kicked off the summit with her approach:

“Amazon is a threat to our workers, our communities and our planet. This is the fight of our time“.

Jennifer Bates spoke on behalf of the Amazon Union and said “In my facility, there were seven people who died in three years -not one time did Amazon recognise we lost someone“.

Kumar Dharmendra spoke, on behalf Amazon India Workers Association and said:

“In India’s Amazon warehouse, workers are fainting because they are expected to work for entire days without a break“.

From the campaign’s point of view-

“the Summit will develop policy solutions on the municipal, national and international level to Amazon’s abuse“

After the summit

Over the last week, Amazon’s profits have tripled, reaching $143.1 billion.

Unions and allies came together to focus on creating a strategy on how they can make positive change and end Amazon’s cruelty.

The summit proves its success as unions have announced Black Friday strikes against Amazon.

The strike is expected to take place in over 30 countries from all over the world.

Their aim is to convince people to “join the global fight for their rights”. Bernie Sanders also took part in the summit last Friday.

He said “If Mr. Bezos can afford all of those mansions and all of those yachts and all of those rocket ships, he can afford to make sure that every Amazon worker makes a living wage“.

An Amazon spokesperson has since responded- “We offer great pay and benefits, and provide a modern and safe working environment”.