An employee works on an Amazon site in Brétigny-sur-Orge, in Essonne, December 14, 2021 (AFP / Thomas SAMSON)
An agreement has been reached for employees of Amazon’s distribution centers, providing for a salary increase of 4.8% on average as part of mandatory annual negotiations (NAO), management announced to AFP on Thursday.
NAOs at Amazon concern, on the one hand, employees of distribution centers, and on the other, those of sorting and delivery agencies (29 sites).
For the latter (around 3,000 on permanent contracts), an agreement was reached at the start of the week.
On Thursday, a majority agreement was also signed for distribution centers by CFDT (19.5%), Unsa (16%) and CAT (19%), Amazon told AFP.
The CGT (20.5%), Sud Solidaires (18%) and the CFE-CGC (7%) refused to sign the agreement.
The agreement provides for the same developments as that of delivery and sorting agencies with the exception of leave for sick children, which already existed for distribution center staff, Jon Scott, HR director of activities, explained to AFP. logistics at Amazon.
“This agreement well represents our concerns (…) for the well-being of employees,” he rejoiced. These “advantages complement existing systems” such as leave for parents at birth or adoption, he recalled.
In particular, it provides for an increase in base salary of 4.8% on average (excluding executives) and a value sharing bonus of 1,000 euros for logistics agents with at least one year of seniority.
But also the establishment of a 10-week paid leave for involuntary terminations of pregnancy beyond the 13th week of pregnancy for all employees, managers and logistics agents.
Unions representing employees of Amazon’s distribution centers (16,000 employees on permanent contracts) had requested on Tuesday additional reflection time before signing or not the agreement proposed by management.
On Wednesday, the CGT declared in a press release “to refuse to sign a cut-rate agreement which does not at all respond to current issues concerning the rise in the cost of living” and demanded “the reopening of negotiations”.
Jérôme Guilain, Sud Solidaires union representative at Amazon, commented to AFP that the proposals “were miserable compared to what Amazon represents” and that management had “not taken into account any of (their) demands”.
Amazon France employs more than 20,000 permanent employees, some of whom work for Amazon France Logistique, which manages large warehouses including eight distribution centers.