Sleep in car and just ride out the pain
lunches were now being given as prizes for top-performing staff.
And another Manchester-based worker told us: “They’ve been handing out chocolates, but I’ve heard nothing about how they will make it better.” Football coach Neil told how he had missed his first game in three years – through exhaustion. He said: “I needed money for Christmas and thought it was half decent pay, enough to tide me over.
“After four days I was dead on my feet. I honestly believe they exploit people’s necessity, their need for money. They feed off that.” Neil even found himself crying on the 20-minute bike ride to the warehouse near his Altrincham home.
And it was only after our exposé that his teaching assistant partner Joanne, 31, understood what he had been suffering.
Neil said: “She read it and said, ‘I’m so sorry. I thought you were exaggerating’.
“We looked at a photo from two days before I started and couldn’t believe it. I’ve lost loads of weight. I felt depressed, to be honest – really depressed.
“It’s the constant pressure they put on you. I was on a final written warning for HUNDREDS of Amazon workers contacted the Sunday Mirror this week to share their experiences. Here are some of their stories: One of my staff told me about his struggle with depression in such an environment. He’d had many issues with other managers, with one telling him if he has mental health issues he “should not be here”, as well as telling him to “get out” if he suffers anxiety.’
‘The last two months have been the worst of my life. Every break I have to try and catch some sleep. I’ve seen plenty of people sleep in their cars.’
‘We were told we weren’t allowed to use the toilet outside of scheduled break times.’
‘It’s only a matter of time before an Amazon driver kills someone. Amazon create routes based on numbers, supposedly to an eighthour working day. But if you start at 8am you’ll sometimes finish at 8pm or 9pm.’
‘Some of us have been placed on report just for sitting down during our shifts.’
‘Working in picking I was always either squatting, or climbing the ladder. It was like taking a 10-hour step class.’
‘I’m 28 and healthy. In six weeks there I’ve injured my back, both my knees and am currently nursing an ankle injury after 11 hours standing up for five days a week. I’d estimate around 75 per cent of my colleagues would say the same.’
‘I was told to work faster and twisted my foot on a ladder. I had to quit, my foot hurt too much to continue under those conditions.’ seven mistakes… out of 4,000 items.” Hundreds of staff and ex workers had similar stories. One former area manager told us: “An employee with cancer needed less walking and wanted to change roles. I tried to help but was forbidden.”
Another told us bluntly: “The last two months have been the worst of my life.”
Amazon said our report was “inconsistent with [the experience of ] the many thousand we employ all over Britain.” They added: “There is on-site physiotherapy. We do not monitor toilet breaks.”