Among the unions representing some 15,500 Amazon France employees, only one, the CFE-CGC executives union, signed the agreement with management on Tuesday on a general salary increase of 3.5%, that the others organizations have deemed insufficient in a context of high inflation.
“We are not signatories because this proposal remains indecent”, explains Morgane Boulard, CFDT central union delegate after a last meeting on Tuesday. But she says she is “rather satisfied that management has not come down to a 3% increase”.
On May 1, the various representative unions (CFDT, Sud, CGT, CAT, CFE-CGC) had indeed regretted that the management of the American giant made them “blackmail”, by “telling them that if the unions did not sign ” Tuesday their proposal to +3.5%, a 3% increase in wages would be decided unilaterally.
The management is cutting back on certain advantages
Finally, only the CFE-CGC signed an agreement going in the direction of a very old claim on its part on the 13th month of certain employees. After two and a half hours of negotiations, the French management of the group decided to “remain unilaterally on a 3.5% increase”, explained Morgane Boulard.
“They listened to the demands of the inter-union”, abounds Hakim Taoufik central union representative of the CAT. The organisations, however, did not sign because they wanted “at least 5% since inflation today is 4.8% and whereas a few years ago the base salary at Amazon was 15 to 20% above the Smic, it is only a few cents now”.
The management, who later specified that the remuneration in the company after 24 months of seniority was “25% higher than the Smic”, cut back on some previously existing advantages. The number of absences authorized without proof goes from three days to one, “better retirement compensation, or even flexible working hours for people wanting to use a PMA” have been withdrawn, detail Morgane Boulard and Hakim Taofik.
In a press release, the management said it was “pleased to confirm the attractive salary increase proposal made by Amazon, which[elle pensait] well positioned for [ses] employees and which will be implemented within [ses] 8 distribution centers, as well as other financial measures”. Among these measures: a status of supervisor for computer technicians, or even end-of-year bonuses maintained, the same source specifies.
The social movement broke out on April 4 at Amazon’s eight logistics sites in France. The CGT, which estimated Thursday in a press release that the company “prefers failure to dialogue”, had notably noted that Amazon was going to “charge its sellers 5% tax to deal with the increase in fuel”, but refused “to give 5% to these employees so that they can cope with the increase in fuel”.
The American giant made $33 billion in profits in 2021, even as inflation and shortages weigh on its economic outlook for 2022.