00:56USA: These Walmart workers spent Black Friday demanding higher pay
At least 200 Walmart workers gathered in front of a Walmart store in Long Beach California on Friday, demanding a minimum wage of $15 (€12.05) per hour and greater employee benefits. Organised by the Organisation United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), the demonstration was part of a series of nationwide protests that is said to be the largest by employees of the world's biggest retailer.
Friday's protest came on Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States, and about two weeks after a November 13 demonstration at a Walmart in the Los Angeles area in which 23 employees were arrested in a sit-down protest.
The demonstration began at about 1130 local time (1930 GMT). Some protesters chanted slogans on megaphones, while a protest banner erected between two car parks was taken down by police.
Walmart has long been accused of paying employees low wages and offering few benefits while also eliminating competition in areas where stores operate. A 2007 University of California, Berkeley study found the opening of a Walmart depressed wages in local counties by 0.5 percent to 0.9 percent.
00:56At least 200 Walmart workers gathered in front of a Walmart store in Long Beach California on Friday, demanding a minimum wage of $15 (€12.05) per hour and greater employee benefits. Organised by the Organisation United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), the demonstration was part of a series of nationwide protests that is said to be the largest by employees of the world's biggest retailer.
Friday's protest came on Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States, and about two weeks after a November 13 demonstration at a Walmart in the Los Angeles area in which 23 employees were arrested in a sit-down protest.
The demonstration began at about 1130 local time (1930 GMT). Some protesters chanted slogans on megaphones, while a protest banner erected between two car parks was taken down by police.
Walmart has long been accused of paying employees low wages and offering few benefits while also eliminating competition in areas where stores operate. A 2007 University of California, Berkeley study found the opening of a Walmart depressed wages in local counties by 0.5 percent to 0.9 percent.