MILAN, Sept. 15 Reuters : Amazon.com Inc has struck a deal with Italian trade unions promising to engage them more in the running of operations in the country.
The framework agreement, seen by Reuters, comes shortly after news that a group of Canadian workers are seeking unionization as Amazon continues to manage discontent among some workers at its warehouses.
The largest online retailer has long curbed staff from organising and staved off a high-profile attempt to form a union in the United States this year.
But globally, it continues to face challenges such as warehouse closures that unions in France pushed for during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a protocol signed on Wednesday, Amazon Italia agreed to consult with trade unions on topics like new openings, job training and industrial relations with authorities.
An important agreement and recognition of the role of unions, marking something new, at a global level, in relations with the e-commerce giant, said the head of the CGIL union Maurizio Landini.
Then earlier this year Amazon workers in Italy staged a strike over demands on delivery drivers in the pandemic in the first instance of Amazon's logistics operation in the country.
The protest came after a surge in Amazon's e-commerce business triggered by the health emergency.
Amazon, which has invested more than 6 billion euros $7 billion in Italy in the last 10 years and created 12,500 full-time jobs, said the deal was proof of its commitment to engage with unions.
We believe relations built on these grounds will encourage investment strategy in the country, it said.