Amazon India on Monday said it will offer a "special recognition bonus" to its employees in the country. The decision comes in line with similar payouts being made to staff in other countries.
Amazon Worldwide Operations Senior Vice President Dave Clark said India operations employees who were employed by the company from October 16-November 13 will qualify for a bonus of Rs 6,300 for full-time employees and Rs 3,150 for part-time employees.
"I am grateful to our teams who continue to play a vital role serving their communities. As we head out of the festive season in India, we want to share our appreciation through another special recognition bonus, totalling more than $500 million globally for our front-line employees," he said.
Combined with other holiday pay incentives, in this quarter alone, Amazon is investing over $750 million in additional pay for its front-line hourly workforce, on top of its industry-leading pay, Clark said. This brings the total spent on special bonuses and incentives for teams globally to over $2.5 billion in 2020, including a $500 million 'thank you bonus' earlier this year, he said.
"Our teams are doing amazing work serving customers' essential needs, while also helping to bring some much-needed holiday cheer for socially-distanced families around the world. I've never been more grateful for - or proud of - our teams," he further said.
The development comes amid a global campaign #MakeAmazonPay, which alleges that the e-commerce giant made big profits but at a huge cost to workers and the planet.
In an article in The Guardian, Casper Gelderblom, a coordinator at the Progressive International, said the campaign brings together warehouse workers, environmental activists and advocates for racial, tax, and data justice around the world.
It stated that organisations and groups including UNI Global Union, Amazon Workers International, PSI, IndustriALL, Athena coalition, International Trade Union Confederation, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, Greenpeace, 350.org, Les Amis de la Terre, Tax Justice Network, Oxfam and Data 4 Black Lives are supporting the campaign.
The article pointed out that Amazon made USD 960 billion in the past decade, but paid just USD 3.4 billion in taxes. It also said that the workers in Amazon's warehouses are unhappy, alleging exploitative HR practices – particularly when Amazon's valuation and Jeff Bezos' personal wealth has skyrocketed in the pandemic.
Latest Business News
