Amazon accused of charging workers a 'stealth tax' as firm cuts benefits to fund pay rise

One employee describes new pay deal as a 'scam' as company scraps share award scheme

Some Amazon workers will be out of pocket despite a recently announced pay rise because the e-commerce giant is scrapping a share incentive scheme, a union has claimed.

Workers represented by the GMB union at Amazon’s Milton Keynes warehouse were said to be “fuming” at the company’s announcement.

“This pay rise is just a scam – they’re taking away our share option as well as our Christmas bonuses,” said one worker who did not wish to be named.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed that it would end an existing scheme which awarded all full-time employees one Amazon share per year but said workers would be more than compensated by a pay rise to £10.50 an hour in London and £9.50 for the rest of the country. Amazon says it does not pay Christmas bonuses.

The company’s share price has doubled to almost $2,000 (£1,530) in the last 12 months, making the stock awards more valuable.

But Amazon says the new pay scheme benefits workers by making compensation more “immediate and predictable”.

It's announcement comes as UK nears full employment with the jobless rate at its lowest since the 1970s, making workers harder to come by - a trend that looks set to continue as the government presses ahead with plans to slash immigration after Brexit.

GMB union general secretary Tim Roache said Amazon’s “PR blitz” about giving workers a pay rise had not mentioned anything about reducing staff benefits.

“This is a basically a stealth tax by the employer on its own wage increase - a clear case of robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he said.

“Meanwhile, workers still graft in horrific conditions to impossible targets and Amazon refuse to listen to or engage with a trade union.

“If Jeff Bezos – the richest man in the world – really wants to give hardworking staff a pay rise he should let them keep their share options as well as increasing their hourly rate.”