Amazon to allow workers to take around 10 weeks off during school holidays
Amazon says it will offer workers a new contract giving parents and grandparents the choice to work only during term-time.
The online retail giant said the move would allow people with children to take six weeks of holiday in summer and two weeks at Easter and Christmas when schools are shut.
However, workers aren’t happy with the flexible working offer which comes after 16 days of strike action.
The GMB union, which is fighting Amazon for recognition, said that while flexible working is welcome, most workers still want better wages.
‘It is no surprise that Amazon have discovered flexible working offers after Coventry workers have found their voice and their strength,’ said Amanda Gearing, GMB Organiser.
The company’s regional operations director, Neil Travis, told the BBC that the flexible working offer would hopefully encourage more people back into the workplace.
‘We spent a lot of time listening to our employees and one of the things that we were learning is that they really wanted more flexible opportunities,’ Travis told the BBC.
The contract won’t impact a worker’s entitlement to full-time benefits which, according to the Jobs at Amazon site, include health and financial insurance plans, matched pension contributions and employee discounts.
Amazon is currently fighting a bid by the GMB to be the first trade union in Europe to be recognised by the company which employs more than 70,000 people in the UK.
‘But the workers are clear – they want their trade union to be recognised. They want a fair pay offer of £15 per hour. In the worst cost of living crisis for a generation it is only fair,’ said Gearing.
‘Amazon needs to stop dithering, talk to GMB and recognise us as their workers’ voice.’
The company said that minimum starting pay for Amazon employees was between £11 and £12 p/h, depending on location which has increased by 10% in nine months.
‘We respect our employees’ rights to join, or not to join, a union. We offer competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, opportunities for career growth, all while working in a safe, modern, work environment,’ an Amazon spokesperson told Metro.co.uk.
‘At Amazon, these benefits and opportunities come with the job, as does the ability to communicate directly with the leadership of the company.’
The GMB said that it has applied to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) for statutory recognition as 800 Coventry employees are now members and that this represents a majority of the workforce.
So if the company argues that more people work in the warehouse than GMB’s calculation, the CAC could deny the recognition.
In January, Amazon workers staged their first-ever strike in the UK in a dispute over pay and conditions. Around 300 staff in Coventry walked out after being offered a pay rise the GMB union says is worth 50p-an-hour.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Amazon for comment.
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