Staff At French Apple Store Threatening To Strike Over Pay On iPhone 5 Launch Day

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An Apple retail store in Opéra, Paris.
An Apple retail store in Opéra, Paris.

If you live in Paris, France, and you’re hoping to bag an iPhone 5 from your local Apple store on Friday morning, you may get there to find that it’s closed. Workers at two Parisian stores are reportedly threatening to strike over pay on what could be Apple’s busiest retail day in the company’s history.

Mac Generation reports that the staff are demanding pay rises, as well as a water fountain and lunch vouchers. They are said to be unhappy over Apple’s salary grid, and the disparity in pay for the same jobs. Furthermore, one of the stores is said to be in an expensive part of the city, hence the request for lunch vouchers.

As part of the protest, the staff are currently wearing bracelets to work that have the word “Believe” on them.

According to the report, discussions over these matters were underway back in July, but it would seem that the workers failed to meet a satisfactory agreement with Apple.

There are just 13 Apple stores in France, two of which are in Paris. If those two stores cannot open on Friday because staff are on strike, it leaves would-be iPhone 5 buyers who didn’t pre-order online stuck without Apple’s latest smartphone until they open again — and who knows when that could be. Though I’m assuming Apple will want to rectify this situation before it comes to that.

Source: Mac Generation

Via: Macworld

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