Victory: Amazon lobbyists to be banned from European Parliament

Weeks after Amazon workers, trade unions and civil society allies supported Member of the European Parliament’s demand for an Amazon ban from European institutions, the European Parliament will be withdrawing Amazon’s lobbying badges. As a result, the company will effectively be barred from lobbying inside its premises. This is only the second time in the history of the European Parliament, after Monsanto in 2017, that a corporation’s lobby access is removed.

Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary, says: “The European Parliament has drawn a clear red line: Amazon’s anti-democratic behaviour won’t be tolerated – whether that’s towards trade unions or parliaments. For Amazon workers and their trade unions across Europe, this is an important victory in the struggle for good working conditions at Amazon.”

The move comes after Amazon’s repeated refusal to attend hearings in the European Parliament on working conditions in Amazon warehouses. Amazon is a frequent visitor to the EU Parliament. In January alone, it had nine meetings with MEPs, including a meeting just a day after the hearing.

Earlier this month, over 30 trade unions and civil society organisations, including Corporate Europe Observatory, UNI Europa, the ETUC, LobbyControl and SOMO sent a joint letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who forwarded the request to the College of Quaestors, in support of the removal of Amazon’s badges. The College, made up of five Members of the European Parliament, confirmed the decision today at a meeting. Now, the Secretary-General of the European Parliament, Alessandro Chiocchetti, is set to execute the decision.

Amazon worker and European Works Council member Gianpaolo Meloni comments: “Amazon treats our democratic institutions like it treats us, its workers: with contempt. Today’s decision by the European Parliament shows Amazon that it can’t continue disregarding our democratic institutions without consequences. And I hope the same will be true in the future when it comes to our democratic rights: like the right to freely join a union and bargain for better conditions and pay.”

The company’s track record, marred by allegations of exploitative labour practices, antitrust violations, tax dodging and environmental negligence, has drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups worldwide. Just last week, following months of intense scrutiny from the press, civil society and government officials, Amazon agreed to pay US$1.9 million to reimburse more than 700 contracted warehouse workers in Saudi Arabia who were deceived by recruitment agents and labour supply companies.

The mounting pressure on Amazon is part of a broader campaign led by the Make Amazon Pay campaign, which mobilised strikes and protests across more than 30 countries on Black Friday 2023.