Thousands of Amazon workers are expected to protest or strike in more than 20 countries on Black Friday to push for better worker rights and climate action from the US retailer.

Employees and representatives of unions and labor groups plan to join protests against the Seattle-based company’s practices between Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday (November 29 and December 2), one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year .

During the annual discount period, Amazon and many other retailers offer deals to shoppers, and warehouse staff are busy fulfilling orders.

Actions are planned in major cities in the US, Germany, Britain, Turkey, Canada, India, Japan, Brazil and other countries. It is coordinated by the Make Amazon Pay campaign, which calls on Amazon – founded by Jeff Bezos, the second richest man in the world – to pay its workers fairly and respect their right to join a union, a fair to pay part of the taxes and commit to environmental sustainability.

Led by the Switzerland-based UNI Global Union for Service Industries and the activist umbrella group Progressive International, Make Amazon Pay is made up of more than 80 unions, anti-poverty and garment worker rights groups and others.

Protests are planned outside Amazon’s UK headquarters on London’s Bishopsgate on Black Friday, when British tax campaigners and other groups will deliver a petition with more than 110,000 signatures to the company, followed by a march to 11 Downing Street. The petitioners are asking the Chancellor to end tax breaks for Amazon UK and other big companies.

Last year, Amazon’s main UK division paid corporation tax for the first time since 2020 following the end of a “super deduction” tax break introduced by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

British trade union GMB plans to hold an online meeting of Amazon workers on Black Friday. Last year, hundreds of strikers outside Amazon’s Coventry warehouse were joined by union members from Germany, Italy and California on Black Friday as part of a global campaign calling for better working conditions and union recognition.

Amanda Gearing, senior organizer at GMB, said: “Here in Britain, Amazon represents everything that is broken about our economy. Insecure work, poor wages and often unsafe working conditions: GMB will not allow these to shape the working world over the next decade.”

In Germany, thousands of members of the Ver.di union will go on strike at warehouses in Dortmund, Leipzig, Koblenz, Graben, Werne, Bad Hersfeld and Rheinberg.

In France, the Association for Financial Transaction Tax and Citizen Action (ATTAC), which promotes tax fairness, will hold protests in several cities. This is the fifth year of the Make Amazon Pay protests.

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

“Bezos’ company has spent countless millions to prevent workers from organizing, but the strikes and protests taking place around the world show that workers’ desire for justice – for union representation – cannot be stopped. We are united in demanding that Amazon treat its workers fairly, respect fundamental rights and stop undermining the systems designed to protect us all.”

An Amazon spokesperson said: “These groups represent a variety of interests, and while we are always listening and looking for ways to improve, we remain proud of the competitive pay, comprehensive benefits and engaging, safe work experience we provide to our teams . ”

Amazon says it is the world’s largest consumer of renewable energy, and last year tied all of its electricity to renewables. It says the starting salary in Britain is a minimum of £28,000 per year on four-day shifts.

Campaign group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice says the company has no interim targets to reach its net zero emissions target by 2040, and that annual carbon emissions have increased by 34.5% since 2019.

At Amazon’s Coventry warehouse, workers narrowly voted against union recognition in July, but the TUC insisted the fight for union recognition would continue.