Growing anger at ‘appalling’ treatment, unsafe working conditions and dehumanising work
Amazon workers are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious and taken away in ambulances, and pregnant women workers are treated appallingly.
This is the reality of the dehumanising work conditions for many associates at Amazon Fulfilment Centres.
GMB, the union for Amazon workers, is staging Prime Day protests across the UK in anger at the appalling working conditions in the retail giant’s warehouses.
From today, the union will hold demonstrations outside Amazon fulfilment centres, including Rugeley, Swansea, Peterborough, Warrington, Coventry, Doncaster and Milton Keynes*
We’re staging protests across Amazon sites up and down the country this Prime Day. The conditions our members work under at Amazon sites across the UK are appalling.
Mick Rix, GMB National Officer
GMB research has revealed the dangerous conditions Amazon workers struggle under.
Since 2015/16, more than 600 reports have been made from Amazon warehouses to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
GMB members report targets being so horrific they have to use plastic bottles to urinate in instead of going to the toilet, and pregnant women have been forced to stand for hours on end, and some pregnant women have been targeted for dismissal.
It has been reported to GMB that women have had miscarriages at more than one Amazon fulfilment centre whilst at work. In one horrendous case, it has been reported to GMB that a woman had a miscarriage at work, an ambulance was not called, and she went home on the bus, with her co-associates in blood stained clothes.
The evidence shows the lack of compassion shown to some associates working for this co called space-age company. In our opinion they are acting out the fantasies and of 19th Century mill owners.
Figures show there were 115 ambulance call-outs to the firm's Rugeley site over a three year period. A similar-sized supermarket warehouse nearby had only eight call-outs.
A Freedom of Information request by the GMB to West Midlands Ambulance Service detailed 24 incidents of chest pain, two electric shocks and 10 cases of trauma among call-outs received between 2015 and 2017.
GMB said the findings of the Rugeley site suggests that Amazon Rugeley is one of the most dangerous places to work in Britain.
Mick Rix, GMB National Officer, said:
“We’re staging protests across Amazon sites up and down the country this Prime Day.
“The conditions our members work under at Amazon sites across the UK are appalling.
Amazon workers want Jeff Bezos to know they are people – not robots. It's time for him to show empathy with the very people that have helped to contribute to his vast and increasing personal fortune.
Mick Rix, GMB National Officer
“The Rugeley site in particular is probably one of the most unsafe places to work in Britain - workers are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious and being taken away in ambulances. We have various reports of pregnant women workers being targeted for dismissal.
“Amazon workers want Jeff Bezos to know they are people – not robots. It's time for him to show empathy with the very people that have helped to contribute to his vast and increasing personal fortune.
“It’s prime time for Amazon get round the table with GMB and discuss ways to make their workplaces safer, and to give their workers an independent voice. My phone is on and we at GMB are ready to hold those discussions with Amazon.
Click to view protest locations and local officer contacts
