Give workers four-day week and more pay, unions urge businesses
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady highlights conditions reportedly faced by Amazon workers as evidence of need to 'share the wealth' from new technology
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Your support makes all the difference.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.
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."
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