An undercover reporter says Amazon workers at a UK warehouse are treated like robots. But the pressure they’re under is causing serious human side effects.
While secretly filming for the BBC, undercover warehouse worker Adam Littler had to fill orders relayed by a monitor mounted to his trolley. The monitor counted down the minimal seconds given to finish each task and find products stored in this huge, 800,000-square-foot facility. The menacing monitor also beeped every time he fell short of expectations and then snitched to management when his performance wasn’t up to par. Next came the reprimand.
These kinds of jobs are so stressful, say experts, they can cause workers serious mental and physical harm, and there needs to be a balance. The demands of efficiency should not outweigh the costs to human health and well-being.
Tell Amazon UK not to work its employees into mental and physical illness.
We, the undersigned, say Amazon should not compromise its workers’ health in order to increase profits.
BBC Business News reported Amazon’s profits were “better than expected” last year after it made cost cuts and launched new products, and its revenues rose over 30% during the first three months.
But Littler’s undercover work shows that this retail giant’s efforts to satisfy investors may come at a high cost to its workers, which is unacceptable. Not only are warehouse employees working under stressful conditions, many work long hours and get only one one-hour break in between.
Certainly the world’s largest online retailer has the ability to take better care of its workers. We insist that Amazon create a balance between profits and worker well-being and stop working its employees into mental and physical illness.
Thanks for your time.
