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In a quarter where revenue is expected to exceed $ 100 billion for the first time, Amazon said it will spend $ 500 million on a one-time Christmas bonus for its frontline workers.
The wage hike – which won’t be paid until January – comes amid plans to strike over the Black Friday shopping weekend and growing calls for unionization.
Dave Clark, chief operating officer of the e-commerce group, said on Thursday that full-time staff employed in the United States from Dec.1 to Dec.31 would receive $ 300. Part-time workers would get $ 150.
UK workers will receive bonuses of £ 300 or £ 150 respectively.
“This brings our total spending on special bonuses and incentives for our teams around the world to over $ 2.5 billion in 2020,” Mr. Clark wrote. “Including a $ 500 million thank you bonus earlier this year.”
Bonuses will apply to warehouse workers and delivery drivers. Drivers working through Amazon Flex, the company’s work app, will receive a $ 100 bonus provided they work for at least 20 hours in December.
Amazon’s announcement came on the eve of Black Friday, the exceptional shopping day on which American consumers are expected to spend more than $ 10 billion, according to Adobe projections, up almost 40%. compared to last year.
Meanwhile, a coalition of dozens of advocacy groups and labor unions seeks to disrupt Amazon’s supply chain and logistics to protest pay rates, worker safety and benefits. The groups are also asking the company to reduce its environmental impact and pay more taxes.
The UNI Global Union said there were planned withdrawals and related actions in at least 15 countries where the company operates or has suppliers, including the US, UK and Germany – where the union Verdi said it had staged a three-day strike at seven Amazon Fulfillment Centers around the country. It follows a strike in June organized by the same group.
In total, organizers said, the groups represent around 40,000 Amazon workers globally, although it is not known how many will attend.
“This is a series of misleading claims from uninformed or interested groups who use Amazon’s profile to promote their individual causes,” Amazon said in a statement.
“Amazon has a solid track record of supporting our employees, customers and communities, including providing safe working conditions, competitive wages and attractive benefits, leading climate change with the commitment of Climate Pledge to be net zero carbon by 2040 and paying billions of pounds in taxes globally. “
In April, Amazon temporarily shut down its six facilities in France after a court order asked it to process only essential items during the coronavirus pandemic. The warehouses reopened in mid-May after several weeks of negotiations between Amazon and the unions.
In the United States, despite several attempts, there is no recognized Amazon union. The influential retail, wholesale and department store union seeks to represent approximately 1,500 workers at a factory in Bessemer, Alabama. “When workers come together to form a union, they gain dignity and respect in the workplace,” reads a website set up to garner support for the effort.
“If Amazon workers in Alabama – a strongly anti-union state – vote to form a union, it will be a gunshot heard around the world,” Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders wrote on Twitter. “If they can negotiate higher wages and better working conditions in the south, it will benefit all American workers.”
Citing leaked internal documents, a recent report from Vice alleged that Amazon hired Pinkerton, a private intelligence agency, to engage in anti-union efforts.
Amazon denied using the agency for this purpose, saying in a statement: “We have business partnerships with specialist companies for many different reasons – in the case of Pinkerton to secure high-value shipments in transit.
“We do not use our partners to collect information on warehouse workers. All the activities we undertake are fully in accordance with local laws and carried out with the full knowledge and support of local authorities. “
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