Prime Day Puts Amazon Workers at Risk

Prime Day may be one of the most anticipated days for those who love to search for deals online. Despite its popularity, Amazon’s sales during the event also pose risks to the company’s employees. Research shows that Prime Day is the leading cause of industrial accidents.

The US House Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) has released the results of its investigation into Amazon. In accordance with CNBCA group led by Senator Bernie Sanders analyzed internal data to learn more about working conditions at the company. The results are surprising, showing that sales periods like Prime Day lead to a significant number of accidents.

According to the report, During Prime Day 2019, there were 45 injuries per 100 workers.The accidents occurred because warehouses were understaffed to meet demand for orders during this and other sales periods, leaving Amazon employees struggling to cope with high volumes of purchases without adequate support.

“Amazon continues to treat its workers as disposable and has complete disregard for their safety and well-being. This is unacceptable and must change,” Bernie Sanders said. The senator noted that Amazon is aware of these conditions and the impact they have on the lives of employees.However, the company made a “deliberate decision not to implement adequate protection.”

A year ago, Sanders sent a letter to Andy Jassy, ​​the CEO of Amazon, accusing him of implementing a policy of ignoring workers. “The founder of Amazon and you, his successor as CEO, They have created a corporate culture that views employees as disposable.“, – said the HELP leader.

Amazon Denies Putting Its Workers at Risk on Prime Day

The US Senate committee mentioned that among the data offered by Amazon is a report titled “Lessons Learned from Prime Day 2021.” The document specifies that The company failed to meet its recruitment plans. between May and June 2021. That year, Amazon operated with only 72.1% of the total employees it originally counted.

The reaction to the publication of the report was immediate and Amazon denies findings. A company spokesman said the committee was “drawing sweeping and inaccurate conclusions” based on anecdotes. Amazon added that the report “misrepresents documents that are several years old” because they contain errors and flawed analysis.

According to Amazon, the company has reduced the level of incidents for anything that requires more than basic first aid, by 28%. On the other hand, the number of accidents with serious injuries that force a worker to miss at least one day of work has decreased by 75%.

The release of the Amazon report on working conditions comes at the start of Prime Day. The document focuses on warehouses in the US where anomalies such as working without proper ventilation during a heat wave or not being allowed to go to the bathroom occur. The company was also cited force their drivers to urinate in plastic bottles end a grueling working day.