NEW DELHI– Amazon workers in India have joined a strike action calling for better wages and working conditions as the company prepares for one of its busiest shopping periods of the year.

About 200 warehouse workers and delivery drivers gathered in the capital New Delhi under the banner ‘Make Amazon Pay’. Some wore masks worn by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and joined forces against the Seattle-based company’s practices.

The Black Friday strike, which kicks off one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year, was echoed at Amazon warehouses in other countries as workers called for higher wages, better working conditions and union rights.

There was no immediate statement from Amazon India.

“Our basic salary is 10,000 rupees ($120), which should be at least 25,000 rupees ($295),” said Manish Kumar, 25, a warehouse worker who joined the protest in New Dehli. “And the environment there has to work under pressure,” he added.

Nitesh Das, a labor leader, said the workers took to the streets because they want the government to take up their cause.

A statement from the Amazon India Workers Union said similar protests are planned in other parts of India, as well as in other countries including the United States, Germany, Japan and Brazil. The demonstrations will call on Amazon to pay its workers fairly, respect their right to join a union and commit to environmental sustainability, the company said.

The union said it would submit a memorandum to India’s Labor Minister Mansukh Mandaviya highlighting its demands.

The gig economy has become huge in India due to rapid economic growth, but workers face low wages and difficult working conditions.

India’s National Human Rights Commission sent a notice to Amazon in June 2023 after local media reported that workers were forced to work without breaks during the hot summer season. Amazon India denied the allegation.