Politicians call for Bezos to change Amazon policies following poor treatment of workers

By Saffiyah Khalique

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Over 400 politicians across the globe have signed a collective letter demanding that Amazon better protect both its workers and the environment. Amnesty International simultaneously released a damning report of abuses the company has made against its workers, ranging from health and safety concerns to not allowing its workers to unionise.

The letter has been signed by U.K. politicians, such as former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbot and Zarah Sultana, alongside U.S. Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib and European Parliament Vice President Heidi Hautala. The letter addresses that – whereas millions of others lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic – Bezos’ wealth has increased dramatically, whilst exploiting his workers who were operating in dangerous conditions without any concessions made to them.

The report by Amnesty International was released in time for Black Friday, as the world geared up to the holiday season and Amazon’s busiest time of year. The report gathered information on the company’s major operating sites of France, Poland, the U.K. and U.S.

International human rights law makes clear that workers have the right to form and join trade unions, and to safe and healthy working conditions. Though Amazon claims to “respect our employees’ right to join, form or not to join a labour union”, the company has gone out of its way on many occasions to limit how trade unions operate, with their most recent annual report identifying trade unions as a risk factor for its international operations. They go so far as to advise managers in a training video on how to look for ‘warning signs’ of union activity.

Amnesty also found that Amazon had been using technology to engage in surveillance and data collection of its workers, including attempts to undermine the workers’ right to organise. Vice News published details of documents in September that found the company had been secretly monitoring and analysing Amazon Flex drivers’ private Facebook groups.

In terms of health and safety, Amazon says that they are committed to providing “safe, inclusive, and respectful workplaces, in both our own operations and throughout our value chain,” making the bold claim that they “strive to be the most safety-centric organisation in the world”.

The company has been under scrutiny well before COVID-19 brought in new health and safety concerns. In September 2020, The Centre for Investigative Reporting published data on the injury rates of warehouses in the US, revealing that during the period of 2016-2019 there was a 33% increase in the rate of serious injuries. They also found a link between the rise in injuries and workload during Prime week and the holiday season.

With the increased risks of working in a pandemic, hazard pay was increased by $2 per hour for some workers in the US, UK, Canada and some EU countries. However, this was withdrawn for many companies at the end of May, despite Amazon workers still facing workplace hazards. The company ignored unions and workers’ organisations calls to keep the payment going. This decision came at the same time that Amazon’s revenue had increased by 40%.

The company responded to Amnesty regarding their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that “nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our employees”, citing the amounts of money they have spent on COVID-19 safety measures. They further stated that hazard pay was an incentive to allow them to deliver essential items to communities during “unprecedented times” and increased demand.

Amazon and Bezos’ lack of care for their workers has hit a breaking point during the pandemic, where profits have continually been put above people. Politicians and human rights groups are beginning to put more pressure on the company to make essential changes for their workers.

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