Internet giant Amazon is under pressure from a global campaign against its business practices, which grew during the pandemic, and is also facing strikes in Germany, which began just before the popular Black Friday discount event.
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The company therefore decided to give its employees bonuses, for which they will spend another $ 500 million (10.9 billion crowns) compared to the current plan. This year, the company has set aside a total of $ 2.5 billion in special bonuses for employees around the world. They also include the “Thank you” bonus, which the company paid out to its busiest employees in June.
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According to serveru BBC this time it is a bonus for employees who will serve Amazon warehouses around the Christmas holidays. The company will redistribute half a billion dollars to the planet’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, to workers between December 1 and 31.
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Employees of the Czech Amazon will also get a bonus. The list of reports was confirmed by spokeswoman Miroslava Jozová. “The Czechs will also receive something from the amount, but the amount of the bonus is currently in question,” said Jozová.
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Amazon’s vice president of global operations, Dave Clark, said leading US employees will receive a $ 300 bonus, while part-time employees will receive $ 150 ($ 3,251). Employees in the UK will receive a bonus of £ 300 (£ 8735) or £ 150 (£ 4368).
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Amazon was one of the few winners of the pandemic. The company expects revenue to exceed $ 100 billion for the first time in the last quarter, bringing total sales to 2020 to more than $ 370 billion. That’s a third more than last year.
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However, Amazon’s results can also turn against it. Server CNN saidthat success has encouraged trade unions, which claim that the company has commitments to its employees and the environment. Dozens of organizations, including Greenpeace, Oxfam, Progressive International and the Tax Justice Network, used Black Friday to raise concerns about compensation and employee safety, as well as Amazon’s carbon footprint and tax practices.
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“It’s great that the number of workers is increasing during the holidays, but that’s not enough,” said UNI Global Union Secretary-General Christy Hoffman, who signed the “Make Amazon Pay” petition.
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“In order to demonstrate that Amazon values its workforce, Amazon should collectively negotiate wages and terms with employees instead of making unilateral gestures of recognition,” Hoffman added.
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One of the European countries in which Amazon trades the most is Germany. The local Verdi union called on employees to strike for a three-day strike at seven locations in the country. He asks Amazon to recognize a collective bargaining agreement that will cover wages, bonuses and paid leave.
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Verdi has similar agreements with other German retailers and has been on strike since 2013 to get Amazon to agree to something similar.
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Amazon said the strike would not affect the delivery of goods to customers, as it has 26,000 employees and 10,000 seasonal workers in the country with the largest European economy, who process orders in 16 centers. “The vast majority of employees do their daily work,” said German spokesman Stephan Eichenseher.
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He added that Amazon already offers excellent salaries, benefits and opportunities for career growth, all while working in a safe and modern work environment. Employees in Amazon’s German warehouses start with a salary of between € 11.30 and € 12.70 per hour, with the country’s minimum wage being € 9.35 per hour.
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Employees protested on Black Friday in another 15 countries around the world. In addition to Germany, they also went on strike in the United States, Great Britain, France, Spain, Mexico and India. In Bangladesh, clothing manufacturers demonstrated and demanded higher wages.
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