Surviving the Workday

I have to admit that I order occasionally from Amazon. I know they’re a giant store. I know they effectively force others out of business. But they are so freakin’ convenient!  At least I used to order from them until the Diaper Incidents, but that’s another story. (Needless to say it involved cases and cases of diapers I didn’t order arriving at our door, prompting remarks like, “Oh My God, it’s more diapers. And more diapers. And, look, more diapers.” It was quite problematic to get rid of them. Quite.)

So setting the Diaper Incidents aside for a moment, which were probably just a computer glitch (or someone thinks we smell like poop), it turns out Amazon has some really squirm-inducing labor policies, particularly (or at least documented) in Great Britain). So Revealed: Amazon Staff Punished for Being Ill sort of made me ill too. The Sunday Times found the following:

– Warned that the company refuses to allow sick leave, even if the worker has a legitimate doctor’s note. Taking a day off sick, even with a note, results in a penalty point. A worker with six points faces dismissal.

– Made to work a compulsory 10½hour overnight shift at the end of a five-day week. The overnight shift, which runs from Saturday evening to 5am on Sunday, means they have to work every day of the week.

– Set quotas for the number of items to be picked or packed in an hour that even a manager described as “ridiculous”. Those packing heavy Xbox games consoles had to pack 140 an hour to reach their target.

– Set against each other with a bonus scheme that penalises staff if any other member of their group fails to hit the quota.

– Made to walk up to 14 miles a shift to collect items for packing.

There is far more in the article, but I see my least favorite first world labor violation in full swing (hiring more vulnerable folks as temporary workers to work them to the bone).