Amazon warehouse staff ‘falling asleep on their feet’
Workers struggle to achieve targets, claims investigation Ambulances called to site . . . but firm insists mood is ‘positive’
AMAZON’S staff are falling asleep on their feet and being taken away in ambulances as they struggle to meet warehouse targets, an investigation has claimed.
Cameras monitor every move as employees try to process up to 300 items an hour, it has been alleged. Screens remind them if they are falling short.
Exhausted staff are said to have to walk up to a third of a mile to use the toilet.
The claims in a newspaper were made about the online retailer’s newest warehouse in Tilbury, Essex. The packing plant is the biggest in Europe, the size of 11 football pitches, and is due to ship 1.2million items this year.
But the investigation, by an undercover reporter for the Sunday Mirror who spent five weeks there, suggested workers suffer mentally and physically as they try to meet demand.
He said that some of his colleagues were so tired from working 55-hour weeks that they would ‘sleep on their feet’. ‘Those who could not keep up with the punishing targets faced the sack – and some who buckled under the strain had to be attended by ambulance crews,’ he added.
An investigation by The Scottish Mail on Sunday last year revealed workers at the Amazon distribution centre in Gourock, Renfrewshire, faced disciplinary action if they were deemed to have taken too long during toilet breaks or to locate items on shelves.
Staff also had to work ‘compulsory’ extra days and hours and were subject to airport-style security checks as they entered and left the warehouse, while a network of CCTV cameras monitored them as they worked.
At the time, Amazon said: ‘Security measures such as cameras are normal procedures in any large logistics centre that houses highly valuable products.’
The latest investigation comes at a time when Amazon has promvide
‘Everybody suffers here’
ised to improve the treatment of staff following accusations of poor conditions and low pay.
Workers in Italy and Germany have gone on strike in protest at their workloads.
At Tilbury, one worker reportedly complained: ‘At my induction, someone was asking why the staff turnover was so high. It’s because they’re killing people. All my friends think I’m dead. I’m exhausted.’
Another is said to have written on a whiteboard for staff comments: ‘Why are we not allowed to sit when it is quiet and not busy? We are human beings, not slaves and animals.’
Amazon said yesterday: ‘We pro- a safe and positive workplace with competitive pay and benefits. Targets are based on previous performance by our workers.’
The retailer made £7.3billion of sales in the UK last year and employs 24,000 people.
The undercover reporter worked at the Essex plant from 7.30am to 6pm with two half-hour breaks, giving just enough time to race to the canteen for food.
One colleague is said to have collapsed as they worked and was taken to hospital by ambulance. Another Another was seen by paramedics after suffering a panic attack when she learned compulsory overtime meant she would have to work up to 55 hours a week over Christmas.
One worker told the paper: ‘Everybody suffers here.’ They added that staff reported a variety of stress-related injuries, including pulled hamstrings and ligaments.
Amazon has defended itself after ambulances were sent to its warehouse in Dunfermline, Fife 43 times last year. Emergencies included 15 of the most serious Category A classification, with 23 workers taken to nearby hospitals.
Call-outs to the depot involved two staff being treated for falls, a call about ‘traumatic injuries’ and two for ‘industrial accidents’.
An Amazon spokesman said: ‘Independent safety experts certify our compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.’