- Amazon executives said the company was “not concerned” about its efforts to unionize workers.
- He said workers are unlikely to choose to unionize because the company offers competitive wages and benefits.
- Meanwhile, Amazon workers in the UK went on strike in January over a modest pay increase.
An Amazon executive said he was “not concerned” about the wave of unionization plaguing workers in the UK because the company offers competitive salaries and benefits. CNBC reported Thursday.
Stefano Perego, Amazon’s vice president of customer fulfillment and global operations in North America and Europe, told CNBC, “As long as we offer competitive salaries and valuable benefits, our employees will be represented. I don’t think I would choose , but this is a problem.” it’s their choice. ”
He added that Amazon was “again, not concerned.” [it] It’s a choice employees have to make and we know we are very competitive. ”
Mr Perego’s comments come after more than 300 workers went on strike at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse in January over a 50p (60 cents) hourly wage hike, a move that would mean the UK would be a better option for Amazon. Now for the first time.
“Robots are treated better than us, so I wish we were treated like robots,” said Darren Westwood, an Amazon warehouse worker in Coventry. BBC at the time.
With more than 220,000 employees in Europe, Perego told CNBC, “there are very few situations where a union exists between us and our employees.”
Amanda Gearing, senior organizer of the GMB union representing Amazon workers in the UK, told CNBC in an email. It’s the richest company in the world, but it pays meager salaries and is uncompetitive. ”
Gearing added, “Amazon employees don’t want ‘unfathomable benefits.’ They want to protect their heads and have enough cash in their pockets to support their families. I want to,” he added.
Amazon and GMB did not immediately respond to insider requests for comment on Perego’s views.
The tech giant has long resisted efforts by workers to unionize, paying up to $20,000 a week to anti-union consultants. These consultants called union organizers “thugs” and promised to address workers’ concerns if they did not support the union.
Nonetheless, Amazon workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, won a rare victory last year when they successfully voted to form a union.
