Workplace exploitation: In a survey conducted by UNI Global Union, 1,838 Amazon employees reported catastrophic working conditions at their factories in India.
Nisha Anand New Delhi
In the survey, four out of five warehouse workers said their work goals were “very difficult” to achieve. Of all respondents, 21.3 percent of workers and delivery drivers said they were subjected to “unsafe” working conditions due to Amazon's policies.
Toilet breaks are not enough
In a shocking revelation, 86.3 percent of warehouse workers and 28 percent of drivers said the bathroom breaks provided to them by Amazon were inadequate. They also demanded that Amazon lower its quotas so they could take adequate meal breaks. According to the workers, Amazon uses mechanisms such as “identity blacklists” to highlight workers who do not meet their quotas.
“You will be penalized for being late if you spend more than ten minutes in the toilet,” said one of the employees.
Workers complain about high work pressure at Amazon India
“After ten hours of standing, my feet hurt a lot,” a former warehouse worker told UNI Global Group. Another current worker claimed that the work pressure is so high that employees do not even have the opportunity to talk to each other.
One in five delivery partners interviewed by the researchers said they had suffered a work-related accident. “I had an accident and nobody helped me. I spent all my money,” said one of the delivery workers.
“The salaries at Amazon India are not enough to cover basic needs”
Workers also complained that they were not allowed to take vacations, were not respected in the workplace, and received low wages that were barely enough to live on and cover basic needs.
About 46.4 percent of warehouse workers said their salary was not enough to cover their basic needs, while 52.9 percent said it was just enough to cover their basic needs. For delivery workers, these figures were 37.2 percent and 60.1 percent, respectively.
Amazon, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, has long been under intense criticism for its poor treatment of its employees. Critics accuse the e-commerce giant of unfairly compensating its workers and actively working to prevent the formation of unions among its workforce.
Ministry of Labour presents report on Amazon India
Notably, last week the Labour Ministry submitted a detailed report to the Haryana government on alleged labour rights violations at Amazon facilities and said action had been taken in this regard.
The US retail giant had previously admitted to safety violations at its warehouse in Manesar, Haryana state, in May.
“Incurable gamer. Infuriatingly humble coffee specialist. Professional music advocate.”
