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Retail giant Walmart on Thursday said it would give $ 700 million in bonuses to its 1.5 million U.S. employees amid appeals from retail workers for the risk premium to be reinstated .
The Washington Post notes that Walmart has managed to keep business steady this year, with its stock value increasing by more than 25%, while many well-known retail companies have declared bankruptcies and closures due to the pandemic.
“As we come to the end of this historic year, I am filled with gratitude for how our associates have gone through one of the most trying times for our company and our country,” said the President and CEO of Walmart, John Furner. “Our associates stepped up to serve our customers, our communities and each other when it was really needed.”
Workers and advocates say companies like Walmart are not taking care of their employees who put themselves at risk by going to work in a pandemic. The United Food and Commercial Workers union said 109 grocery store workers had died from COVID-19. The organization represents 900,000 employees and more than 17,400 have been exposed or infected.
The total number of grocery worker deaths from the pandemic will likely be much higher as retailers are not required to report cases or deaths to authorities.
Last week, workers’ rights group United for Respect demanded that large retailers such as Walmart, Amazon and Petco pay their employees an additional $ 5 an hour for the remainder of the pandemic. The organization’s “Five to Survive” campaign calls on retailers to give workers access to paid and unpaid time off, virus safety measures and protection against retaliation.
The United States has reported more than 13.8 million cases as of December 3 and more than 272,000 deaths from the virus. On December 2, the United States recorded the highest number of cases in a single day with 196,227 cases.
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