A union called the ‘United Tech & Allied Workers’ (UTAW) representing Apple employees and contractors in the UK has called the pay raises by the Cupertino tech giant “a pay cut” after taking inflation into consideration.
To make their demands for higher wages and improved working conditions heard, multiple stores in the United States organized to unionize.
And in response, the tech giant adopted different tactics to dissuade workers from voting in favor of a union like increasing minimum wage to $22 per hour, having “listening” sessions to hear the employees’ grievances and demands, sharing the impact of a union in finding “fewer opportunities, less flexibility” and compelling the company to pay “less attention to merit” and others.
However, last month Apple Store in Towson, Maryland become the first unionized retail location in the United States which has received NLRB certification.
54.4% of Apple retail workers in the UK believe their pay raises were “less than inflation”
UTAW held a survey poll on Twitter that asked Apple workers if they are satisfied with their annual pay increase. And the result revealed that 54.4% of workers believe their pay raises were “less than inflation”.
The organization went on to detail that inflation is high, along with the consumer price index and retail price index. Therefore, their demand for a pay rise in line with inflation is not “asking for much”.
This year most of us at Apple, specifically those who work in Apple Stores, received below inflation raises – cuts to our pay in real terms.
No we’re not teachers, postal workers, nurses, train drivers, but we do help to keep people connected, help them get their work done, and fix people’s phones when they break. People rely on us every day, and our employer can afford to do better.
UTAW further argued that in 2021, the tech giant’s revenue increased by 33%, and the CEO’s pay increased by 600%, so “there’s NO EXCUSE for Apple not to pay its frontline staff fairly, in this economy or any other.”
Having said that, the trillion-dollar company is also bearing the burn of inflation and a bad economy. Recently, Bloomberg reported that the Cupertino tech giant reportedly plans to slow hiring and spending for select teams for 2023 as a recession looms. But despite the inflation, the company is going to increase the compensation for workers this year to retain them in a tight labor market.
It can be assumed that Apple might increase retail workers’ pay in due time, not because of inflation but to prevent them from unionizing.
