London,October 2019-(Amanjit Singh Khaira)-
Faisal Rashid, MP for Warrington South, has asked the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy to launch an investigation into shocking reports of workplace rights being violated at Amazon. Faisal’s intervention was based on reports that emerged on 20th October, which claimed that exhausted staff at an Amazon warehouse in Tilbury, Essex regularly fall asleep in the toilets, have been punished for trying to form a union and get reported for taking breaks longer than ten minutes. Workers even reported a pregnant woman who fell ill being refused an ambulance by warehouse management.
According to figures from Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, almost 50 serious injuries – including broken bones – have been suffered by Amazon workers at its Tilbury warehouse in the past two years.
In January 2019, Amazon become the world's most valuable listed company at $797bn (£634bn). With an estimated fortune of $131bn (£99bn), Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the wealthiest man in modern history.
Faisal Rashid, MP for Warrington South, said:
“This week shocking reports emerged about dire workplace conditions at Amazon. Reports of workers falling asleep in staff toilets due to exhaustion and some employees being refused professional medical treatment are appalling. It is worth remembering that Amazon is the most valuable public company in the world and its owner, Jeff Bezos, the richest man on the planet.
“These exploited workers desperately need a union. Yet workers at Amazon have had their shift patterns interrupted just prevent them from talking to union officials on the way in to work. I asked the Minister to launch an investigation into workplace conditions at Amazon but as is so often the case, my question was dodged, and no commitments were given.
“With in-work poverty on the rise and zero-hours contracts becoming commonplace, the role of trade unions has never been more critical. Your rights at work are not safe under this Government. A Labour government will empower workers and their trade unions – because we are stronger when we stand together.”
