Give
workers four-day week and more pay, unions urge businesses
News › UK › UK Politics
TUC
general secretary Frances O'Grady highlights
conditions reportedly faced by Amazon workers as evidence of need to 'share the
wealth' from new technology
Benjamin Kentish Political Correspondent, in Manchester
@BenKentish
Sunday 9 September 2018 17:04
Frances
O'Grady will tell trade unionists to 'raise our ambitions' as she insists a
four-day working week is possible this century ( Reuters
)
The leader of Britain’s trade union movement has called for
the power of technology to be used to give workers a four-day working week.
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trade Union
Congress, will use her speech to the organisation’s 150th annual gathering
today to insist that the change is possible in the 21st century.
Comparing the campaign to previous fights for limits on
working hours and the right to a weekend and annual leave, Ms O’Grady will say
it is “time to share the wealth from new technology.”
She will argue that wealth generated by new technology
should be used to reduce workers’ hours and pay them more, naming Amazon as an
example of a company where profits are being unfairly distributed.
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Speaking in Manchester, Ms O’Grady is expected to say: “In the 19th century, unions campaigned
for an eight-hour day. In the twentieth century, we won the
right to a two-day weekend and paid
holidays.
“So, for the 21st
century, let’s lift our ambition again. I believe that in this century we can win a four-day working week,
with decent pay for everyone.
“It’s time to share the wealth from new technology. Not
allow those at the top to grab it for themselves.”
It comes as new TUC research found a majority of workers
believe shareholders and managers will hoard the benefits of new technology.
Meanwhile more than four in five employees want to reduce
their working hours without having their pay cut.
Ms O’Grady will single out Amazon for criticism following a series of reports about the
conditions of its warehouse workers.
She will say: “Jeff Bezos owns Amazon – now a trillion
dollar company. He’s racking up the billions while his workers are collapsing
on the job exhausted.
“We need strong unions with the right to go into every
workplace, starting with Amazon’s warehouses here in the UK.”
The TUC leader will also use her speech to call for
internet giants to face tougher regulations in a bid to stop the rise of the
far-right, demanding parliament “wake up” and introduce new duties on companies
such as Facebook.
“Since the referendum two years ago we have a seen shocking
rise in attacks by far-right thugs,” she will say.
“They aren’t just organising on the streets, they’re
mobilising on Facebook and WhatsApp – aided and abetted by Russian hackers and
paid for by American billionaires.
“We need parliament to wake up and take urgent action. That
means new rules to get big money from overseas out of our politics – not just
at election time, but for good.
“And it means tough new duties on social media companies to
stop the spread of hate.”
Speaking at the start of the conference yesterday, Ms
O’Grady said the TUC would throw its weight behind calls for a Final Say vote
on Brexit unless Theresa May ditches plans for a hard Brexit.
Ms O’Grady’s claim of Amazon workers collapsing on the job
followed a report in which a Sunday Mirror reporter spent five weeks undercover
at the company’s Essex warehouse.
Employees reportedly had timed toilet breaks, while some
were said to have been made to do compulsory overtime, meaning they were
working a 55-hour week ahead of the Christmas period.
Amazon hit back at the time, saying: “Amazon provides a
safe and positive workplace with competitive pay and benefits from day one. We
offer great jobs and a positive environment with opportunities for growth. As
with most companies, we expect a certain level of performance.
“Targets are based on previous performance achieved by our
workers.
"Associates are allowed to use the toilet whenever
needed. We do not monitor toilet breaks."
