As Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos simply reclaimed the title of the richest individual on Earth, its staff can’t even take a rest room break below the strain of assembly inhumane efficiency targets.
On the listening to within the European Parliament in January, the place Amazon’s chair remained empty, we acquired a glimpse into horrible working situations by testimonies of staff.
One specific story sticks in our thoughts — of a employee who witnessed an accident and was later fired, to stop any damaging affect. There are studies about each break being intently monitored, about cameras in entrance of the lavatory door, about staff being handled like robots, slaves, numbers.
There have to be no place for such exploitation in Europe. The multinational should respect European guidelines and values if it needs to do enterprise and make revenue in Europe. We should make Amazon pay respectable wages and guarantee staff’ rights — to deal with staff like people, not robots.
With this mission in thoughts, the Socialists and Democrats are on Friday (12 April) organising a Europe-wide Amazon motion day, coordinated by UNI Europa, the European Companies Staff Union, to fulfill Amazon staff and UNI Europa affiliated commerce unions in Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands — and talk about methods to empower staff to allow them to stand as much as Amazon’s exploitation.
This pledge for extra motion is the S&D’s reply to Amazon’s dismissive perspective. They refused to take part in parliamentary hearings to speak about staff’ rights they usually cancelled an official go to of members of the parliament to look at working situations in its warehouses, whereas making an attempt to affect our choices by the again door.
In response, first, in February, MEPs, commerce unions and civil society efficiently campaigned to ban Amazon lobbyists from freely coming into the European Parliament’s premises. For the reason that parliament’s resolution and extra public scrutiny, Amazon has up to date its registration within the EU Transparency Register. The corporate now studies spending at the least €4.5m — up from €2.75m — making it the seventh-largest spender for a single firm.
The second step now’s to journey throughout Europe to fulfill with staff and commerce union representatives instantly, to hearken to their tales and coordinate additional motion.
Employee surveillance
Taking into consideration numerous testimonies, one apparent plan of action is to protect Amazon staff in opposition to huge surveillance by making certain a brand new formidable European laws on synthetic intelligence within the office, drawing on the instance of just lately adopted platform work laws. This implies securing the human-in-command precept so solely people can take vital choices, banning the processing of staff’ information by AI, making it obligatory to agree with staff’ representatives about deployment of any AI know-how, and adopting severe sanctions, together with monetary penalties, in case of non-compliance.
Furthermore, the following parliament must step up its combat in opposition to practices which might be enabling staff’ exploitation — disrupting and weakening of commerce unions, referred to as union busting, and disregarding of collective bargaining.
The complete enforcement of the EU minimal wage laws is vital — its goal of 80 % collective bargaining protection additionally applies to Amazon, and it additionally ensures the entry of commerce union representatives to staff. Moreover, multi-employer and sectoral collective bargaining agreements encompassing staff all through Amazon’s provide chain must be strengthened. The objective is that there might be no Amazon office with out staff’ representatives and no Amazon employee and not using a collective settlement.
Union-busting should turn into against the law so EU member states will be capable of impose stiff penalties, together with jail sentences, for violations of labour rights and anti-union actions. Commerce unions ought to have unrestricted entry to Amazon’s services, enabling them to successfully signify staff’ pursuits, tackle grievances, and negotiate truthful working situations.
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As well as, the following parliament should revise the European public procurement laws to dissuade public funding of Amazon’s social dumping in addition to to prioritise firms upholding labour rights and fascinating in collective bargaining. Analysis by UNI Europa has revealed that Amazon acquired over €1.3bn by profitable public contracts in Europe from 2019 to 2021.
The overwhelming majority of the contracts are introduced in by Amazon Internet Companies (AWS), the company’s net and cloud computing arm. Even worse, from 2020 to 2022, Amazon acquired virtually 30 million euros for AWS contracts with completely different EU Directorate-Generals.
To lift consciousness of Amazon’s monopolistic practices and exploitation of staff, UNI Europa put collectively its model of the favored board sport, Amazonopoly. The directions begin with a easy goal — attempt to see if you happen to can win when Amazon already owns all the things, from surveillance instruments to care and medical merchandise. The multinational is piling up its fortune on the backs of underpaid and mistreated staff.
“You paid for all this,” Bezos mentioned to Amazon staff and patrons when he returned from area in July 2021. It’s time to make Amazon pay again. It’s time to make Amazon play a good sport in Europe.
