Posted by Climate-change activists said they are protesting Amazon’s “exploitative” business practices
Extinction Rebellion target Amazon warehouses in Black Friday blockade
Extinction Rebellion demonstrators have targeted a number of Amazon warehouses across the UK to protest the company’s Black Friday working conditions and output.
The UK’s largest Amazon warehouse, in Dunfermline, Fife, was blocked by around 20 XR activists from 4am this morning.
Protesters with “lock-ons” and placards prevented lorries from entering the site and some from leaving.
XR said all of Amazon’s UK distribution centres would be targeted, with protesters having gathered near other distribution centres at Manchester Airport and in Tilbury, Essex.
Meg Paton-Jones, XR’s spokesperson at the Dunfermline blockade, said: “The police have one van on site and they are watching us.
“We started here at about 4am but are not blocking the employees’ car park so the night shift can leave. We have good vibes and music.”
An XR spokesperson added: “The action is intended to draw attention to Amazon’s exploitative and environmentally destructive business practices, disregard for workers’ rights in the name of company profits, as well as the wastefulness of Black Friday.”
Black Friday is Amazon’s busiest operating day of the year, with prices of thousands of products slashed. Millions of shoppers visit the site to secure bargains such as Alexa devices, TVs and game consoles.Advertisement
Protester Eleanor Harris, from Glasgow, said: “It is essential we move to a new model of economics that prioritises well-being and sustainability over profit.
“The era of exploitative throw-away capitalism will soon be over, either by changing to meet the challenges we now face or by the destruction of our global habitats and societies.”