The email stated that the payment for transporting packages would be changed from 125 yen per package to 100 yen per package. The new contract would take effect from April 5th. Based on "customer needs," it also required that the number of working days per week be four or more.
The driver, who was completely taken by surprise, called an Amazon representative to ask for an explanation, and was told, "It's Amazon's decision." In an email he later received from the same representative, it was stated that the new pay rates were "based on regional operating costs, population density, and the labor market." When he requested an increase in the volume of packages he would deliver, he was told that "it depends on the demand for the products, so we cannot make any promises."
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASV3G1SM9V3GUTIL019M.html?iref=comtop_7_04
16 Comments
Oh wow is Amazon not making enough profits or? Guess I go back to buying my shit in the store.Â
Everything is more expensive so delivery drivers have less purchase power with their wages even if their wages remain stagnant. Cut their wages by 20% and now there is no way they can make ends meet.
Apparently the average delivery rate varies between 10-30 items in an hour with most falling in 15-20. Daily rates seem to average around 120 items.
In some cases the delivery rate could fall below minimum wage (Â¥1226 in Tokyo, i.e. you’d need to maintain at least 13 deliveries/hour to stay above this).
What this is likely to lead to: speeding from delivery drivers and drivers working longer hours and suffering exhaustion, both of which increase the likelihood of accidents. If they occur Amazon should be held liable for such a predictable outcome. They’re also encouraging drivers to do deliveries “in between other jobs” which only further raises the risk of accidents.
The USA, Canada, France, Australia, and even Saudi Arabia, have all enacted punitive legislation against Amazon’s crappy work ethics. It would be nice if Japan did something similar but it will probably take a tragedy to make politicians care (about the cost of inaction, of course they do not and will not ever care about the workers).
That’s fucked.
I feel awful for these guys. Yet I sit here and order like 75 things a year from Amazon.
I checked my my last few years averages.
I wish I could tip them somehow easily.
Bold move to pull that in a country with labor shortage
Woah. I always wondered why the drivers ran everywhere.
Wish I could compensate our delivery people better. My wife makes them work hard.
Japan really need to protect the workers here – especially if they aren’t even paid minimum wage.
Even now I get some traying to ram in my package into the mailbox which it doesn’t fit into, so it hangs halfway outside on the front, even though we have a delivery box. Which I assume is because it takes more time to lock up etc.
Guessing that will become the norm.
Absolutely no excuse for amazon to be trying to save money, they could double the amount per package and it probably wouldn’t make a dent.
Someone from Amazon knows Japan too well. In the meantime, the Japanese government still believes it should raise all fees for foreigners to align with those of other developed countries. The mixed reality in Japan is ‘stupid, unrealistic, and robotic.’
Horrible company.
I’d happily pay a Â¥200 surcharge per delivery if it meant parcels getting to my door safely. Recently they haven’t even made it past the lobby when I’m in and waiting for them. Of course, if Amazon offered such a service then it wouldn’t actually get passed to the drivers.
This is why I never buy anything for Amazon. Fuck them
Amazon. That’s just greedy.
Fuck amazon.
thx for letting us know . closing my amazon account rn
And I thought English teachers are the only ones being affected by the spiraling wages.
My fiance is a driver in the US and they have a strong union.
I am also a member of the union in Japan. Unfortunately things are going to get worse unless they fight back. Up until now I can feel that union members are looked at with disdain by society and you are guaranteed to lose your job (like I did) because companies know someone who is not unionized and someone wouldn’t fight back could take their place. By not fighting back, they are giving too much power to these big corporations who will continue to abuse them.