To: Amazon Jeff Bezos
Amazon UK: pay your workers a Living Wage
Amazon, please become a Living Wage employer across UK operations
I have signed this petition to call on you to pay all your workers in the UK, including contracted workers, the Living Wage. This is the amount needed to provide the essentials of life. You can find out more about the Living Wage and how to become an accredited Living Wage employer on the Living Wage Foundation's website: http://www.livingwage.org.uk/.
Amazon is a hugely successful company. With UK sales last year of £4.2bn, I believe that you can afford to pay your workers the Living Wage. Doing so would benefit their wellbeing and their families, but it would also potentially improve their productivity and reduce absenteeism. As such, becoming a Living Wage employer would benefit not only your workforce but your company too.
Please do what's best for society and for business: become a Living Wage employer across your UK operations.
Why is this important?
Amazon has more than enough money to pay its workers (both permanent employees and contracted agency workers) the Living Wage. This is the wage needed to support a basic standard of living. With UK sales in 2012 of £4.2billion, you'd think Amazon could afford to pay its workers enough to be able to feed and clothe themselves and their families.
And unacceptably low pay isn't all Amazon does to demean its workers:
A sack-if-you're-sick policy that sees you turfed out if you take 3 sick breaks in a 3 month period
Giving workers 15 minute breaks that start wherever they are in the giant warehouses
10 hour days
Compulsory overtime
Monitoring and timing toilet breaks
Half-a-point if you're 1 minute late or more (3 points and you're out)
Paying the minimum wage or just above it, when it could well afford to pay the Living Wage
A 'performance console' that tracks and logs workers' activities so they can be released if their 'pick rate' is too slow
I don't know about you, but I find it pretty disgusting. It's time for Amazon to listen up and listen hard. It can't ignore us forever. Paying the Living Wage will be a big step in the right direction.
Do what's best for your workers (permanent and agency), Amazon: become an accredited Living Wage employer across your UK operations. God knows, you could do with a good news story.
You can read the stories from Amazon workers across the UK at
http://www.amazonanonymous.org/ and check out the alternatives to Amazon on this 'Amazon-Free' shopping guide here!
