Berlin’s “Amazon Tower” inaugurated: UNI affiliate ver.di protests and demands collective agreement

The global e-commerce giant’s move into its new prestigious Berlin headquarters – the Edge East Side high-rise on the Warschauer Brücke, known as the “Amazon Tower” – has prompted UNI affiliate ver.di to draw attention to the company’s unacceptable refusal to provide fair, safe and, above all, healthy working conditions.

“The Amazon Tower may shine beautifully in the Berlin sun when it shines – but that cannot outshine the fact that the company is denying its approximately 40,000 employees in Germany good and reliable working conditions in the form of a collective agreement,” said Silke Zimmer, member of the ver.di federal executive board responsible for retail. “Any global corporation that wants to be the leading e-commerce company in Germany must face up to its social responsibility as an employer.” She called on Berlin’s governing mayor, Kai Wegner, to urge Amazon, as a major employer in the capital, to recognise collective agreements and protect workers’ rights.

This is not an abstract issue, emphasised Zimmer. Amazon workers, especially in distribution centres, report constant surveillance by apps, scanners and cameras that monitor where they are, whether they are talking, when they take breaks and how much time they need for each individual task. The resulting pressure, combined with physically demanding work, leads to massive health problems for many employees.

“Amazon must finally meet the demands of its employees and negotiate a collective agreement that guarantees good wages and protects against work that makes people ill,” said Zimmer. In addition to the recognition of existing regional collective agreements, ver.di is calling for a collective agreement with Amazon on good and healthy work. She criticised that this had been refused for more than ten years.

Amazon’s relationship with democratic representation and control is also meagre: the company is happy to use publicly funded infrastructure, education systems and transport links, but refused to answer questions at hearings in the European Parliament. The European Parliament has therefore banned Amazon lobbyists until further notice because they repeatedly failed to attend hearings. On 26 June 2025, Amazon will have another opportunity to answer to the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.

Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary, said: “The chicken is coming home to roost: after losing its lobby access at the European Parliament, Amazon will finally be held accountable for high pressure, constant surveillance, low safety standards and meagre pay that workers endure. For workers and their trade unions, this is a hopeful sign that democratic accountability still matters.”