Slave Labor? Amazon Warehouse Employees Caught 'Peeing In Bottles' Due To Fear Of Punishment

Image Credit: The Sun

UK Author James Bloodworth recently wrote about his experience while working undercover in 2016 as a "Picker" in Rugeley, England's Amazon Fulfillment Center, saying workers were "constantly monitored, searched and exhausted" - some even reportedly relieved themselves in bottles rather than taking a break.

Per an April 18th article on Business Insider:

"Bloodworth said he was employed through Transline, an agency Amazon cut ties with last year after a 2015 investigation by The Guardian found it had sent about 1,500 people to work in poor conditions at the warehouse of Sports Direct, a major British retailer.

"Bloodworth said Amazon staff members had to meet high productivity targets that were feasible only if they ran around the warehouse — something Amazon didn't allow for health and safety reasons."

During an interview, Bloodworth stated, "The job itself is really bad. I've worked in warehouses before, but this was nothing like I had experienced. You don't have proper breaks — by the time you get to the canteen, you only have 15 or 20 minutes for lunch, in a 10-1/2-hour working day. You don't have time to eat properly [or] get a drink."

"You have to go through security when you leave the warehouse, and that adds five minutes. It's like an airport — belt off, watch off. The atmosphere is what I imagine a prison feels like. You felt like you were walking on eggshells."

He went on to describe the time he discovered a bottle of urine while looking for a customer's item:

"One day I'm walking down the aisle, and I go to pick up an item, and there's a bottle of straw-colored water on the shelf. And at first I thought, 'Oh, what's that?' And then it was very obvious what it was. And there was a pool of water next to it. It struck me — it was so obvious why someone would do that."

In a lengthy response to Bloodworth's allegations, Amazon said they "provide a great environment for all [their] employees" and don't monitor anyone's bathroom breaks:

"Amazon provides a safe and positive workplace for thousands of people across the UK with competitive pay and benefits from day one. We are committed to treating every one of our associates with dignity and respect. We don't recognise these allegations as an accurate portrayal of activities in our buildings.

"We have a focus on ensuring we provide a great environment for all our employees and last month Amazon was named by LinkedIn as the 7th most sought-after place to work in the UK and ranked first place in the US. Amazon also offers public tours of its fulfillment centres so customers can see first-hand what happens after they click 'buy' on Amazon.

"Amazon has a range of initiatives to support our people if they become ill at home or at work and we recently extended these to include improved on-site support. We recognize that there are times someone cannot come to work, even if they want to. If someone is ill, we want to help them get back to work when they are fit to do so. We no longer have a points-based attendance policy — we changed it following feedback from out our associates. If someone is sick, we will have a conversation with them to understand their own individual circumstances. We completely support our people, and use proper discretion when applying our absence policy.

"As with nearly all companies, we expect a certain level of performance from our associates and we continue to set productivity targets objectively, based on previous performance levels achieved by our workforce. Associate performance is measured and evaluated over a long period of time as we know that a variety of things could impact the ability to meet expectations in any given day or hour. We support people who are not performing to the levels expected with dedicated coaching to help them improve.

"Amazon ensures all of its associates have easy access to toilet facilities which are just a short walk from where they are working. Associates are allowed to use the toilet whenever needed. We do not monitor toilet breaks

"The pay rate for permanent Amazon's fulfillment centre employees in the UK increases over their first two years of employment, after which time all employees earn £8.35 an hour and above. All permanent Amazon fulfillment centre employees are given stock grants, which over the last five years were on average equal to £1,000 or more per year per person. Employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, subsidised meals and an employee discount, which combined are worth more than £700 annually, as well as a company pension plan.

"Amazon also offers employees an innovative programme called Career Choice that provides funding for adult education, offering to pre-pay 95% of tuition and associated fees for nationally recognised courses, up to £8,000 over four years."