Zara employees announce plan for Black Friday protests outside of stores

Workers at Zara are planning widespread protests across seven European countries this Black Friday, a crucial sales period, to demand the reinstatement of a profit-sharing scheme.

The European Works Council for parent company Inditex, in coordination with Spain's CCOO union, announced that demonstrations are scheduled for 28 November outside Zara stores in major cities across Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain.

Rosa Galan, a CCOO representative at Inditex, confirmed that Zara previously operated a profit-sharing programme, which was discontinued following the pandemic. "We are once again asking that a company that has huge profits, which are the result of the work of its staff, distribute those profits fairly," Galan stated, highlighting the core demand. Inditex has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the planned industrial action.

The world's largest listed fast-fashion retailer has experienced robust sales growth in the years since the coronavirus pandemic, with its shares having doubled in value over the past three years.

Black Friday, the final Friday of November, and the surrounding weeks represent a key sales window for retailers, often utilised by workers globally to spotlight their demands through strikes and protests.

This follows similar actions on Black Friday in 2022, when Spanish workers protested for higher pay, leading to a 20 per cent average wage increase for Inditex store staff in its home country three months later.

Zara employees' strike is just the latest company to see disruption this holiday season. Starbucks workers went on strike this week on the launch of Red Cup Day, which is typically one of its busiest days of the year.

At least 95 Starbucks stores in 65 US cities participated in the strike, Starbucks Workers United union said.

There is no date set for the strike to end, and more stores are prepared to join if Starbucks doesn’t reach a contract agreement with the union, organizers said.