Google employees demand back pay for temp workers after alleged wage violations

Google knowingly and illegally underpaid thousands of temp workers in dozens of countries for years and attempted to cover it up, according to a Guardian report. Many countries have pay parity laws that require temp workers to be treated equal to full-time employees performing the same or similar work. However, the report claims, Google failed to comply with pay parity laws in the UK, Europe, and Asia, despite Google executives' knowledge of the violations since May 2019. 

A petition signed by more than 700 workers calls on Google to “immediately pay back all Temps, Vendors and Contractors (TVCs) who have been knowingly underpaid by Google” and to “create an immediate path to permanent employment for temporary workers and end its two-tiered perma-temp system.”

Earlier this year, Google workers launched the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) which is open to all employees and contractors at any Alphabet company. Alphabet is Google's parent company and AWU members are represented by CWA Local 1400.

Links:

Google workers demand back pay for temps company underpaid for years (Guardian, Sep. 15, 2021) 

Revealed: Google illegally underpaid thousands of workers across dozens of countries (Guardian, Sep. 10, 2021)