Charter gives techs $25 gift cards instead of hazard pay during pandemic
Instead of bonus pay for risky work, techs get weekly $25 restaurant gift cards. …
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Charter Communications is giving its cable technicians $25 restaurant gift cards instead of hazard pay for going into customer homes during the coronavirus pandemic, BuzzFeed reported yesterday. The gift cards are a “token of our appreciation,” an internal email from management on Monday said, BuzzFeed reported. Of course, many restaurants are closed during the pandemic, so restaurant gift cards aren’t the most useful perk Charter management could have chosen.
“These gift cards never expire, so if you choose a restaurant that is currently not open, the card will remain valid for future use… Please take some time out of your busy day to enjoy a meal and recharge,” the email read.
Several Charter employees did not appreciate the minimal gesture. “It’s really insensitive, it shows they don’t care,” one New York City-based technician told BuzzFeed. “You think a gift card is supposed to make us feel better?”
No hand sanitizer or gloves
BuzzFeed previously reported that Charter technicians are being sent to customer homes without protective equipment such as masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer. The internal email to Charter technicians said the company has now “secured access to hand sanitizer and gloves, which would be available for workers to use ‘in the next few weeks,'” according to BuzzFeed. Numerous customers have asked Charter techs “why they aren’t in full protective gear.”
A Charter spokesperson told BuzzFeed that “The response from the technicians to all our recent changes, along with the gift card gesture, has been very positive.”
Charter, operator of Spectrum TV and Internet service, is the
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