Strikes called at Amazon in Spain amid Black Friday and Cyber Monday retail rush

Thousands of Amazon workers are threatening to walk off the job during one of the busiest weekends for shoppers in Spain demanding better pay and working conditions.

Major Spanish union CCOO on Monday 21 November called on 20,000 warehouse and delivery workers at Amazon's (AMZN.O) local unit to stage a one-hour strike on each shift on November 27-28, which coincide with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

CCOO wants the company to improve labour safety and acknowledge workplace risks in Spain, boost human resources staff and raise wages, arguing that the pay does not reflect the volume of workload. The union also pointed out the multinational had rejected previous proposals offering a solution, triggering the call-to-action.

Amazon was tight-lipped on the issue and said "our teams throughout Spain already work in a modern and safe environment with competitive salaries and benefits". "Entry-level employees earn at least 1,400 euros a month and have opportunities to grow and develop their careers. On top of that, employees and their families have comprehensive benefits in which we invest thousands of euros more per year, including private health and life insurance, paid meals, extended paid paternity leave and employee discount, to name a few," the US company added.