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Amazon's German workers go on strike again over pay

About half of the workers at Amazon's distribution center in Leipzig -- 500 people -- have gone on strike, according to a report.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger

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Hundreds of workers at Amazon's Leipzig distribution center in Germany have gone on strike over claims that the e-retail giant should boost their pay.

About 500 workers out of the 1,200 in Amazon's Leipzig center went on strike Monday, requesting higher pay, Reuters reported. Verdi, a Germany-based labor union, is speaking on the workers' behalf, urging Amazon to boost their pay.

Amazon's employees argue that the e-retail company should be held to collective-bargaining agreements that govern the mail order and retail industries. Amazon, meanwhile, says that the workers do not work in mail order or retail, but rather logistics because they are packaging orders to be shipped to customers.

Amazon last year was hit with employee strikes across German distribution centers just weeks before Christmas. At that time, about 1,000 German workers walked out of several Amazon distribution centers.

For its part, Amazon has expressed little concern for its business when the workers walk out. Last year, in fact, the company's head of Germany, Ralf Kleber, told Reuters in an interview that he was more concerned with snowfall during the busy holiday rush than the strikes. Amazon later reported that deliveries were not affected when the workers walked out.

Verdi did not say how long this strike might last, and so far, Amazon has stayed tight-lipped on the strike. CNET has contacted Amazon for comment. We will update this story when we have more information.

Amazon's shares are up 0.5 percent to $340 in pre-market trading on Monday.