Fife would be better off without giant Amazon depot, claims Rennie
WILLIE Rennie, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, has claimed Fife would have been better off without the giant Amazon depot which employs hundreds of people.
The MSP, who represents Mid-Scotland and Fife, said staff endured “terrible” working conditions. He also criticised Amazon’s record on paying tax.
Speaking during an election debate featuring four of the five Holyrood party leaders, he said: “The quality of the experience (for staff) is terrible and they (Scottish government ministers) need to bring these kind of things to an end. I think Fife would be far better off if we had invested in home grown industries rather than chasing tax-dodging companies.”
Amazon’s “fulfilment centre” in Dunfermline is the biggest in the UK. About 750 permanent staff work at the depot, which is the size of 14 football pitches.
A further 1,500 people are hired at peak times.
However, the firm has been criticised for its employment practices, including its use of zero hours contracts.
It was also criticised for limiting its tax liabilities in the UK, paying only £11.9 million to HM Revenue & Customs on sales of £5.3 billion in 2014.
Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, rejected Mr Rennie’s comments.
“I’ll leave Willie Rennie to argue that folk at Amazon in Fife should lose their job,” she told an audience at Dundee University.
The comments came in an election debate organised by Dundee University Students’ Association.
Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Greens leader, and Tory MSP Alex Johnstone also took part.
The 75-minute debate was the first in the run-up to the Scottish Parliament elections on May 5.