Posted on 11/26/2017 11:23:05 PM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
Amazon's staff are falling asleep on their feet and being taken away in ambulances as they struggle to meet warehouse targets, an investigation has claimed.
Cameras monitor every move as employees try to process up to 300 items an hour, it has been alleged. Screens remind them if they are falling short.
Exhausted staff are said to cover clocks so they are not reminded how long there is to go on their shifts, and have to walk up to a third of a mile to use the toilet.
The claims in a newspaper were made about the online retailer’s newest warehouse – which the company refers to as a ‘fulfilment centre’ – in Tilbury, Essex.
The packing plant is the biggest in Europe, the size of 11 football pitches, and is due to ship 1.2million items this year.
But the investigation, by an undercover reporter for the Sunday Mirror who spent five weeks there, suggested workers suffer mentally and physically as they try to meet demand.
He said that some of his colleagues were so tired from working 55-hour weeks that they would ‘sleep on their feet’.
‘Those who could not keep up with the punishing targets faced the sack – and some who buckled under the strain had to be attended by ambulance crews,’ he added.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I would guess they save money doing it this way also. UPS used to charge more for residential delivery and this way they can deliver a load of packages to the local post office.
I was not speaking about Amazon in particular. We have labor laws for a reason unless you never studied such a subject in school and have no idea of what working conditions were like in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
If Amazon is forcing people to work without air conditioning, they should be held accountable. It’s as simple as that.
I worked 2 full time jobs for 10 years. 8-5 then 6-2. I had Saturday and Sunday days off and Tuesday and Thursday nights. Lots of times when I’d wake up and look at the clock I’d know I had to go to work but couldn’t remember which one. lol
There is that too, having the post office subsidize the last mile. I am not sure that is more efficient since the package enters another package handling system.
In the modern world, Amazon is infamous for being tough on its rank and file.
This newspaper article sponsored by the Brick-And-Mortar Business Association of the U.K..
***Amazon warehouse several years ago in the summer with no air conditioning.***
Poor pitiful earthlings. I used to work in a steel fabrication shop. No AC. Lots of torches. welders and furnaces going. Only a window fan on a pipe to keep me from passing out.
So??
I hear the same thing about the local call center. The whole system is designed to be efficient and penalize slackers.
For some reason, my meth-head cousin does well there.
I always win the worst job contest.
It involved used condoms.
Just another Yorkshireman...the more horrible the working conditions, the better they feel. I always looked for great working conditions; you’d be surprised: they pay well too.
I have worked in restaurants as well.
It isn’t even close to the same category as manual labor of this type.
Apples and Bowling Balls comparison.
Well I worked 100 hours a week in a coal mine for free. Hell I had to pay them to work there! None of that commie window fan sissy crap in a real man’s job!
And I was fired for blinking too much! And I was the one that fired me!
That’s how alpha I am! You all are sissies!
You’re funny! But I’m probably the only one laughing, lol!
Then there were the years I did migrant labor picking green beans. Hot, humid, felt like 130 degrees in the fields. beans were heavy and I got a penny a pound. Actually made $5 dollars one day!
Then two weeks later it was hot and dry. Beans were light and I made $2.80 a day even though I picked the same amount of beans.
Brother passed out in the field it was so hot. But then it was also survival as there were no real jobs.
“Every American should be entitled to decent working conditions and if the phonies who run Amazon are violating labor laws, they should be held accountable.”
**********
They’re not breaking any labor laws here. I had a room mate (just moved to his own place) that works in SAT1 (near San Antonio) and he said these stories are BS. The normal work week is 4 10s then 3 days off. During “Peak” season they have mandatory overtime but they get PAID for the overtime at overtime rates. For the most part these kids have no idea what a REAL job is or what it takes to succeed.
Good to know; thanks for posting.
Swiped.
I'm a retired postal employee who spent years battling packages and heavy mail containers. For years I beat the mail, but as I got older, the mail started beating back. Heavy repetitive labor is good for the young and strong, but it can be a killer for those who are older and weaker. I wonder how many Amazon workers are older people forced to accept a job they are ill suited to perform.
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