On Black Friday, workers, activists, and citizens and unions, including the UNI Global Union and the IFJ, are joining together to #MakeAmazonPay its workers fairly, pay for its impact on the environment and pay its taxes.
In the same vein, the IFJ has repeatedly called on all governments to start negotiations with tech giants so-called GAFAM - Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft - to collect a tax on income generated in their national territory. This campaign is being followed by several countries in the world, such as Brazil, where the National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ) is proposing a new tax on digital platforms and the creation of a Fund to Support and Promote Journalism and Journalists.
It should be remembered that these companies do not pay any tax in most countries where they collect revenue, which is estimated at $900 billion worldwide. In turn, taxing this income at 6% would mean the injection of up to $54 billion into global journalism.
In view of what this amount could represent, the IFJ calls for these funds to be jointly managed by representative unions of journalists and media workers and national employers' organisations, in order to give them a fair share and an appropriate use compatible with the work of defending press rights and freedom worldwide.
In the case of Amazon, UNI Global Union called on Amazon workers to take a picture with the #MakeAmazonPay poster or banner in front of an identifiable Amazon building. Those photos should be posted from their union's social media accounts on Twitter and with the hashtag #Makeamazonpay.
"During the pandemic, we have seen Amazon grow into a trillion dollar corporation and Bezos become the first person in history to amass $200 billion in personal wealth. Meanwhile, as Amazon warehouse workers risk their lives on low pay, the giant's carbon footprint has grown larger than two thirds of all countries in the world, and it pays close to 0% corporation tax", UniGlobal claimed.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "Companies like Amazon, Google or Facebook are virtually not paying taxes in most of the countries they operate in. While workers around the world pay their taxes, it's time for GAFAM to do the same. The "free-ride" time needs to come to an end."