During the Pandemic, Apple Store Employees have complained about Poor Working Conditions.
As it comes to grips with a Tightening Labour Market and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Apple wants to considerably raise its perks for U.S. retail store workers. The company, which employs roughly 270 people in the United States, is proposing adjustments that will affect both full-time and part-time workers.
Beginning April 4th, Apple will increase benefits for all of its retail employees in the United States. According to Bloomberg, the additional perks include extra vacation and sick days, as well as paid parental leave. It will affect full-time and part-time staff at all 270 Apple Stores around the country.
The computer behemoth's promise of more lavish benefits was not unexpected. In a tight labour market, Apple, like many other companies, is having trouble finding and maintaining hourly workers. The Verge, Gizmodo, 9to5Mac, and other publications have reported on the bleak realities of Apple's retail operations, which include low compensation, onerous workloads, and low employee morale.
Due to staffing difficulties caused by Covid-19, many stores had to cut back on hours or close entirely. Hundreds of Apple employees staged a walkout on Christmas Eve to protest their working conditions. These employees' testimony stands in stark contrast to Apple's financial performance throughout the pandemic, which has produced multiple consecutive quarters of record-breaking results.
Apple will increase the amount of paid sick days available to both full-time and part-time employees by a factor of two. Instead of six sick days, full-time retail employees will get twelve. Workers will be able to use sick leave for mental health days or to take family members to the doctor since the corporation will be more flexible with sick leave. Part-time workers will also receive paid vacation days and up to six weeks of paid parental leave.
Amazon, Walmart, and Fedex have all made similar measures to keep hourly and front-line employees, and the company's benefits expansion is no exception. Thousands of frontline workers have since quit or retired as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic's stressful and unsafe working circumstances. However, labour rights campaigners point out that many of these gains, such as bonuses or hazard pay, are either ephemeral or have been reversed.
The modifications were verified by an Apple official, who said they had been in the works for some months.
The Cupertino-based firm is having trouble hiring and retaining staff, particularly in certain parts of the country. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Apple retail staff have also expressed dissatisfaction with their working conditions.
