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> The company said salaries paid to its workers were among the highest in the logistic sector and that it also provided some benefits such as private medical in

> The company said salaries paid to its workers were among the highest in the logistic sector and that it also provided some benefits such as private medical insurance or money to pay for training programs. Not a criticism of either Amazon or the unions but I would really appreciate it if news sources would verify these claims one way or another. Obviously as a wire service, that may not be Reuters' job but whether Amazon's claim here is true or not makes a massive difference to what I glean from the article.

hackermailman 9y ago
I talk to workers here in Canada the starting salaries and benefits are about average, definitely not 'highest in the sector' or any such nonsense though maybe in Europe they are in order to attract employees. Here they are expected to do 10-12hr overtime shifts every day, and work as hard as possible without breaks to make bonuses which are inconsistent, and because there's no union representation harassment galore goes on with managers phoning you at home all hours to answer non-critical questions that could have waited until your next shift. This old Gawker article accurately describes the warehouse conditions http://gawker.com/inside-an-amazon-warehouse-the-relentless-need-to-mak-1780800336 http://gawker.com/inside-an-amazon-warehouse-the-relentless-...
- swypych 9y ago
  “Wire service”?
  - jacobolus 9y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_agency
srtjstjsj 9y ago
Being a "wire service" doesn't remove their obligation to check claims of fact. Otherwise, they should print my claim that Amazon has the lowest benefits of any logistics company.
chiefalchemist 9y ago
Regardless, volume of work and general conditions might not align with pay. In this instance, it sounds to me that Amazon is expecting to push very high / recond volumes but not adjust compensation to align with that. Long to short, there are reasons to strike beyond just pay.
peterwwillis 9y ago
You cannot gleam anything from this blurb. It doesn't talk about Germany's trade surplus, higher than average minimum wage, or strong unions that typically compromise with companies rather than threaten the company's long term stability. It also doesn't mention Italy's strikes being so common you check the morning news to see what won't be working that day. The fact that the info comes from Amazon is biased at best, but without an analysis of both situations this is just a 'current events' blurb.
- bonzini 9y ago
  Strikes are very common in public transport in Italy. Everything else, not that much.
thirdsun 9y ago
At least in germany the criticism is based on the fact that Amazon considers its business and workforce as part of the lower paying logistics sector, while unions expect Amazon's employess to be paid according to the retail/trade labor contract. That means mentioning the high salary level among logistic workers doesn't address the actual concern of the unions.

hackermailman 9y ago

I talk to workers here in Canada the starting salaries and benefits are about average, definitely not 'highest in the sector' or any such nonsense though maybe in Europe they are in order to attract employees. Here they are expected to do 10-12hr overtime shifts every day, and work as hard as possible without breaks to make bonuses which are inconsistent, and because there's no union representation harassment galore goes on with managers phoning you at home all hours to answer non-critical questions that could have waited until your next shift. This old Gawker article accurately describes the warehouse conditions http://gawker.com/inside-an-amazon-warehouse-the-relentless-need-to-mak-1780800336 http://gawker.com/inside-an-amazon-warehouse-the-relentless-...

swypych 9y ago
“Wire service”?
- jacobolus 9y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_agency

srtjstjsj 9y ago

Being a "wire service" doesn't remove their obligation to check claims of fact. Otherwise, they should print my claim that Amazon has the lowest benefits of any logistics company.

chiefalchemist 9y ago

Regardless, volume of work and general conditions might not align with pay. In this instance, it sounds to me that Amazon is expecting to push very high / recond volumes but not adjust compensation to align with that. Long to short, there are reasons to strike beyond just pay.

peterwwillis 9y ago

You cannot gleam anything from this blurb. It doesn't talk about Germany's trade surplus, higher than average minimum wage, or strong unions that typically compromise with companies rather than threaten the company's long term stability. It also doesn't mention Italy's strikes being so common you check the morning news to see what won't be working that day. The fact that the info comes from Amazon is biased at best, but without an analysis of both situations this is just a 'current events' blurb.

bonzini 9y ago
Strikes are very common in public transport in Italy. Everything else, not that much.

thirdsun 9y ago

At least in germany the criticism is based on the fact that Amazon considers its business and workforce as part of the lower paying logistics sector, while unions expect Amazon's employess to be paid according to the retail/trade labor contract. That means mentioning the high salary level among logistic workers doesn't address the actual concern of the unions.