Jessica Morden Jessica Morden - Labour MP for Newport East, PPS to Keir Starmer and Shadow Minister for Wales
I’m supporting the GMB Union campaign to ensure that Amazon workers are treated with respect and dignity at work.
Research from the GMB Union shows that there have been 600 ambulance call-outs to Amazon warehouses over the last three years. A survey of GMB members working at the sites reveals that 87% per cent are in ‘constant or occasional pain’ due to their workload. Another survey of Amazon warehouse workers by campaigning group Organise found that 74% of people were afraid to go to the toilet for fear of missing productivity targets.
It is ludicrous that Amazon, owned by one of the world’s richest men Jeff Bezos, still refuses to give its staff basic rights at work. In 21st Century Britain no one should be afraid to go to work, but this is the reality of life for Amazon workers – including constituents of mine. It’s an outrage that the company are refusing to meet or recognise the GMB, who want to work constructively with Amazon to improve working conditions for its members.
I’m very disappointed with the UK Government’s failure to engage with working conditions in Amazon warehouses. In a response to a recent written question I asked on this issue, DWP Minister Justin Tomlinson confirmed that the department had not held any discussions with representatives of Amazon to discuss working conditions, or the high number of NHS ambulance responses to the company’s warehouses over the last three years.
Tens of thousands of people across the country undertake shift work in warehouses for companies like Amazon, but we have a Government that refuses to engage with their concerns or challenge unscrupulous employment practices.
You can sign the GMB’s Amazon Workers Are Not Robots petition here:
https://www.gmb.org.uk/campai…/amazon-workers-are-not-robots