Unite union activist protest outside Swansea’ Liberty Stadium. Photo via Action on Amazon Wales
Glyn Owen
As part of a national day of action, campaigners took to the streets in Swansea earlier this week to call on Amazon to end its anti-union activities and poor working conditions for its 40,000 staff in the UK.
Banners demanding a stop to worker exploitation were unfurled at Swansea’s iconic Liberty Stadium a short distance from the 800,000 square foot fulfillment centre which employs around 1,200 permanent staff and an additional 1,000 workers during seasonal periods.
Similar scenes took place across the UK in a campaign being led by the trade union Unite, which is calling on Amazon to sign a declaration that would guarantee its workers the freedom to talk with and form a union.
This comes as last week Amazon reported that its first-quarter profit more than tripled to £5.8 billion, compared to £1.8 billion the year before, fuelled by the growth of online shopping during the Covid crisis.
During the pandemic, while warehouse workers and delivery drivers were risking their lives to keep countries functioning, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos increased his personal wealth by around £50 billion, propelling him to the world’s richest person in history, according to Forbes.
This eye-watering wealth increase has been achieved off the backs of Amazon workers and against a backdrop of reports about poor working conditions.
Recently in Bessemer, Alabama where Amazon workers are challenging their failed unionisation attempt on the grounds of illegal interference by the company, a worker collapsed while working in the warehouse and later died in hospital.
In Spain, Amazon is currently facing legal action from workers for hiring the infamous, union-busting company Pinkertons to spy on and intimidate workers planning strike action in Barcelona.
In February, a joint investigation by the Mirror, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and ITV News uncovered a host of exploitative practices in Amazon warehouses across the UK, from employing agency workers on quasi-zero-hour contracts (despite claims of not using zero-hour contacts), incorrect or unpaid wages, and last-minute cancellation of shifts.
Amazon’s shady and anti-democratic activities have now caught the attention of the European Parliament, which is calling on Bezos to testify in front of its Employment and Social Affairs Committee later this May, as part of a major investigation into the digital delivery behemoth that is rapidly mutating into a global super-monopoly guided by a CEO with aspirations to colonise the solar system.
In March, Unite launched its ‘Action on Amazon’ campaign by opening a confidential hotline for Amazon workers to call in order to blow the whistle on poor working conditions. Unite is now taking its campaign one step further by demanding Jeff Bezos sign a pledge preventing the company from obstructing union organisation by Amazon workers in the UK and Ireland.
In a letter addressed to Amazon’s CEO, Unite executive officer, Sharon Graham highlighted concerns held by Amazon workers such as, “bullying, mandatory overtime, intense surveillance, and break-neck production targets”.
“Amazon’s profits have tripled off the backs of workers who have been essential during the pandemic. But the company continues to be plagued by reports of poor working conditions and anti-union tactics,” says Sharon Graham.
“Amazon workers are not currently free to join a union without fear, and without obstruction and propaganda being deployed against them. Amazon workers need an independent voice to stand up against injustices in the workplace.
“If the company is genuine then it should be more than happy to sign the declaration.”
Amazon workers can blow the whistle and expose poor treatment free from reprisals by calling 08000 14 14 61 in the UK or 1800 851 268 for the Republic of Ireland or visiting https://actiononamazon.org/hotline/.
