Hundreds of Amazon workers to hold protests on across Black Friday

This comes after the GMB discovered in June, after making numerous Freedom of Information requests, that ambulances were called out 600 times to 14 different Amazon sites over the last three years, including 115 times to the Rugeley site.

Hundreds of workers organised by the GMB will hold demonstrations at five Amazon sites in the UK, including Milton Keynes, Warrington, Peterborough, Swansea and Rugeley.

One worker told the union: “I am pregnant and they put me to stand 10 hours without a chair. They are telling me to work hard even they know I am pregnant. I am feeling depressed when I am at work.”

Meanwhile workers in Italy and Spain have opted to strike for the full 24 hours against.

The GMB’s general secretary Tim Roache said the protests were designed force the ecommerce giant into a dialogue with them.

“We’re standing up and saying enough is enough,” he said. “You’d think making the workplace safer so people aren’t carted out of the warehouse in an ambulance is in everyone’s interest, but Amazon seemingly have no will to get round the table with us. Working people and the communities Amazon operates in deserve better than this. That’s what we’re campaigning for.”

In response Amazon stated: “Amazon has created in the UK more than 25,000 good jobs with a minimum of £9.50 an hour and in the London area, £10.50 an hour on top of industry-leading benefits and skills training opportunities.

“All of our sites are safe places to work and reports to the contrary are simply wrong. According to the UK Government’s Health and Safety Executive, Amazon has over 40% fewer injuries on average than other transportation and warehousing companies in the UK.

“We encourage everyone to compare our pay, benefits and working conditions to others and come see for yourself on one of the public tours we offer every day at our centres across the UK.”

From: Retail Gazette

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