Amazon hikes pay for warehouse and delivery workers

Amazon is raising its hourly wages for its warehouse and transportation workers, the institution announced Wednesday.

Beginning successful October, Amazon's mean starting wage for front-line employees successful the U.S. volition beryllium bumped up to much than $19 per hr from $18 per hour, the institution said.

Warehouse and transportation workers volition gain betwixt $16 and $26 per hr depending connected their position, Amazon added. Amazon's minimum wage for employees successful the U.S. remains $15 an hour.

Amazon is spending astir $1 cardinal connected the wage hikes implicit the adjacent twelvemonth arsenic it looks to pull and clasp employees successful a historically choky labour market. It's besides preparing to participate what's known arsenic "peak" season, the particularly engaged buying play tied to the holidays.

Tensions person been increasing betwixt Amazon and its front-line workforce, peculiarly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Employees person called for wage increases, much paid clip disconnected and adjustments to productivity expectations.

Workers astatine respective Amazon facilities person taken steps to organize, and earlier this year, workers astatine Amazon's warehouse successful Staten Island, N.Y., successfully voted to signifier the company's archetypal U.S. union. Amazon faces different national predetermination astatine a tract adjacent Albany, N.Y., adjacent month.

The institution said earlier this period it planned to rise wage and benefits for drivers employed by members of its contracted transportation network, which handles a increasing stock of its last-mile deliveries to customers doorsteps.

Alongside the wage increase, Amazon said it's besides expanding a payday beforehand programme for its employees that allows them to entree up to 70% of their eligible earned wage whenever they take and without fees, not conscionable connected a schedule, specified arsenic a bi-weekly basis.

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