| This Amazon strike 19:47 - Jan 25 with 3902 views | PrideOfTheEast |
So the main man in Coventry goes on tv, talks about surveillance etc and then says that most of those striking would have accepted a £1 pay rise rather than 50p. At least that’s what I think he said - he’s barely literate. So what is it, a pay rise that they’re after or a change in working conditions! Absolute joke. |  | | |  |
| This Amazon strike on 05:08 - Jan 26 with 863 views | BlueBadger |
'Payrise and treat your employees like grown ups who shouldn't have to ask permission to go for a slash' isn't really an either/or thing. |  |
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| This Amazon strike on 06:31 - Jan 26 with 821 views | powinswitch |
| This Amazon strike on 20:44 - Jan 25 by Herbivore |
What's an "absolute joke" is Amazon making billions of profit year on year, paying minimal tax, and doing all this whilst paying their staff the bare minimum, a level of income that necessitates the state offering additional financial support to ensure they can live. Their business model, in the UK at least, is predicated on essentially sponging off the state. The taxpayers are funding their profits. If Amazon were benefit claimants or immigrants it'd boil a lot more piss than it seems to amongst much of the population. |
I don’t understand why there is not greater public pushback against these corporations that exploit workers worldwide. The points made about this business paying minimal tax, relying on the state to top up wages etc. are valid and important. How do they get away with it, why doesn’t the public care? | | | |
| This Amazon strike on 06:55 - Jan 26 with 815 views | BlueBadger |
| This Amazon strike on 20:44 - Jan 25 by PrideOfTheEast |
What?
Per my original post, simply amazed that somebody can stand on live tv talking about working conditions and then say that most of them would take a 50p pay rise (in addition to the current offer) [Post edited 25 Jan 2023 20:44]
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No idea what the point you're trying to make here actually is beyond 'how dare they want to be treated AND paid better'? | |
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| This Amazon strike on 07:30 - Jan 26 with 774 views | Herbivore |
| This Amazon strike on 06:31 - Jan 26 by powinswitch |
I don’t understand why there is not greater public pushback against these corporations that exploit workers worldwide. The points made about this business paying minimal tax, relying on the state to top up wages etc. are valid and important. How do they get away with it, why doesn’t the public care? |
Because, in general, the population is kept in a state of political and economic ignorance and a large portion of it is paid so little that it's only concern is subsistence. We're also constantly fed the notion that the kind of market driven, exploitative capitalism that we live under is somehow the 'natural' state of affairs and nothing can be done about it much in the way nothing can be done about the sun rising in the morning. It's a form of collective induced insanity, basically. |  |
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| This Amazon strike on 07:56 - Jan 26 with 762 views | BlueBadger |
| This Amazon strike on 21:18 - Jan 25 by Lord_Lucan |
I get what you are saying but it may have possibly been misunderstood - and possibly intentionally.
Gotta say I think the thought of working for Amazon feels me with dread, now I have no hard evidence for this but I would wager that they are bastards.
We used to sell on Amazon and they are bastards while taking your money so I’m sure they aren’t great in giving it.
So my take is those poor bastards should be earning £15 an hour at least.
….. but then the prices go up
The public gets what the the public wants. |
But they're making billions, mostly tax-free. They can afford it comfortably without putting their prices up. | |
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| This Amazon strike on 08:08 - Jan 26 with 749 views | powinswitch |
| This Amazon strike on 07:30 - Jan 26 by Herbivore |
Because, in general, the population is kept in a state of political and economic ignorance and a large portion of it is paid so little that it's only concern is subsistence. We're also constantly fed the notion that the kind of market driven, exploitative capitalism that we live under is somehow the 'natural' state of affairs and nothing can be done about it much in the way nothing can be done about the sun rising in the morning. It's a form of collective induced insanity, basically. |
So I understand that. What I don’t understand is why there is no form of expose, whether by journalists or a pressure group. Using the cafes as an example. We seem to have evolved from tens of thousands of independent tea or coffee shops in say the 70s and 80s, to considerably more now. But there are a handful of corporate chains that dominate, and who pay their staff less, contribute less in taxes, and are just money making exploiters. The independents pay their dues, tend to have less exploited staff etc. I really don’t understand why that persists, and nobody raises it anywhere except on this type of thread, that gains no traction.
As Lucan commented earlier, and Mr Weller shoutedly sang ‘the public gets what the public wants’. Inertia and apathy rule. | | | |
| This Amazon strike on 08:25 - Jan 26 with 725 views | itfcjoe |
| This Amazon strike on 21:18 - Jan 25 by Lord_Lucan |
I get what you are saying but it may have possibly been misunderstood - and possibly intentionally.
Gotta say I think the thought of working for Amazon feels me with dread, now I have no hard evidence for this but I would wager that they are bastards.
We used to sell on Amazon and they are bastards while taking your money so I’m sure they aren’t great in giving it.
So my take is those poor bastards should be earning £15 an hour at least.
….. but then the prices go up
The public gets what the the public wants. |
There's a really good book called Hired by James Bloodworth where he goes into these zero hour jobs and works them for a bit and Amazon, by far, comes out the worst.
Having to work through agencies who take a cut of money, just being told no work for 4-5 days and therefore no money, being monitored every second of shift, warnings if in lowest 10% of pickers, your break starts when you stop picking but takes 15 minutes to get through security to be allowed into the mess hall and that comes out of your break, and a dozen other things. |  |
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| This Amazon strike on 09:03 - Jan 26 with 683 views | Herbivore |
| This Amazon strike on 08:08 - Jan 26 by powinswitch |
So I understand that. What I don’t understand is why there is no form of expose, whether by journalists or a pressure group. Using the cafes as an example. We seem to have evolved from tens of thousands of independent tea or coffee shops in say the 70s and 80s, to considerably more now. But there are a handful of corporate chains that dominate, and who pay their staff less, contribute less in taxes, and are just money making exploiters. The independents pay their dues, tend to have less exploited staff etc. I really don’t understand why that persists, and nobody raises it anywhere except on this type of thread, that gains no traction.
As Lucan commented earlier, and Mr Weller shoutedly sang ‘the public gets what the public wants’. Inertia and apathy rule. |
People are just indoctrinated by politicians and the media - both of which are controlled by and operate in the interests of big business and the super rich - to believe that this kind of thing is normal and therefore acceptable. | |
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| This Amazon strike on 09:08 - Jan 26 with 680 views | thebooks |
Thought the two who were on the main news were pretty inspiring, really. Getting a union and strike organised at a virulently anti-union company in a country with some of the harshest anti-striking laws in Europe is a major achievement. But I'm sure you've achieved that sort of thing in your working life, while being extremely "literate".
They want £15/hour and better conditions, which includes not getting questioned for taking toilet breaks. |  | | |
| This Amazon strike on 09:20 - Jan 26 with 659 views | DJR |
| This Amazon strike on 06:31 - Jan 26 by powinswitch |
I don’t understand why there is not greater public pushback against these corporations that exploit workers worldwide. The points made about this business paying minimal tax, relying on the state to top up wages etc. are valid and important. How do they get away with it, why doesn’t the public care? |
Isn't the issue that it is a vicious circle? Many people get paid poorly and have to shop where it's cheapest. That in turn benefits companies like Amazon and some of the supermarkets, who drive down wages/squeeze suppliers etc in order to stay competitive.
And the fact is that things like Amazon Prime, with its one day delivery, is clearly a loss leader designed to shore up its position, when its cost could instead be given as wages to its employees.
For what it is worth, I try wherever possible to avoid Amazon and make at most a couple of purchases a year on things that it is not possible to get anywhere else. But I have the luxury of choice. |  | | |
| This Amazon strike on 09:35 - Jan 26 with 641 views | J2BLUE |
| This Amazon strike on 09:20 - Jan 26 by DJR |
Isn't the issue that it is a vicious circle? Many people get paid poorly and have to shop where it's cheapest. That in turn benefits companies like Amazon and some of the supermarkets, who drive down wages/squeeze suppliers etc in order to stay competitive.
And the fact is that things like Amazon Prime, with its one day delivery, is clearly a loss leader designed to shore up its position, when its cost could instead be given as wages to its employees.
For what it is worth, I try wherever possible to avoid Amazon and make at most a couple of purchases a year on things that it is not possible to get anywhere else. But I have the luxury of choice. |
I'm a massive hypocrite as I do use Amazon. I have Prime and probably place 10+ orders a month for myself and family.
I hate using it but when Amazon have something for £15 delivered tomorrow with Prime delivery or I can pay £20 plus £4-5 postage and get it in 2-3 working days from other places I must admit I go with Amazon.
Not proud of it and would happily pay more for Prime if they paid and treated staff better.
Also, while I do feel extremely guilty, Bezos has $120bn. I have no idea how he can sleep at night. How are the likes of him and Musk anything but a curse on the planet hoarding that amount of private wealth? |  |
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| This Amazon strike on 09:43 - Jan 26 with 625 views | DJR |
| This Amazon strike on 09:35 - Jan 26 by J2BLUE |
I'm a massive hypocrite as I do use Amazon. I have Prime and probably place 10+ orders a month for myself and family.
I hate using it but when Amazon have something for £15 delivered tomorrow with Prime delivery or I can pay £20 plus £4-5 postage and get it in 2-3 working days from other places I must admit I go with Amazon.
Not proud of it and would happily pay more for Prime if they paid and treated staff better.
Also, while I do feel extremely guilty, Bezos has $120bn. I have no idea how he can sleep at night. How are the likes of him and Musk anything but a curse on the planet hoarding that amount of private wealth? |
Short of going off to live on a desert island, it's rather difficult to be truly principled. After all, Amazon is not alone in exploiting workers.
The fact is that things have changed from the 70s and before, when companies generally were much more paternalistic in their dealings with employees. Company pensions were an example of this but these days, for many companies, shareholders or owners are their priority at the expense of employees.
It's not so much "the public gets what the public want", rather "the [large] companies get what the companies want".
[Post edited 26 Jan 2023 9:47]
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