Amazon warehouse workers in Europe protest on Black Friday, calling working conditions 'inhuman'

GMB said in a press release that it expects hundreds to participate in the protests at five Amazon warehouses in the U.K. and that workers in Italy and Spain will also "take action." CNBC could not independently confirm how many people attended the protests. "The conditions our members at Amazon are working under are frankly inhuman," GMB General Secretary Tim Roache said in the press release. "They are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious and being taken away in ambulances. We're standing up and saying enough is enough, these are people making Amazon its money. People with kids, homes, bills to pay — they're not robots." https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/11/23/amazon-exec-not-seeing-lost-jobs-due-to-using-robots.html

https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmazonWeAreNotRobots?src=hash https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmazonWeAreNotRobots?src=hash GMB bases its allegations in part on a report that ambulances had been called to Amazon warehouses 600 times over the past three years as of May, a Freedom of Information request filed by the union revealed. Of the calls, 115 were to a single facility in Rugeley with 1,800 to 2,000 workers, the Guardian reported. That compares to eight ambulance calls to a nearby Tesco facility of a similar physical size with about 1,300 workers, according to the Guardian. In a statement, Amazon said, "Our European Fulfillment Network is fully operational and we continue to focus on delivering for our customers. Any reports to the contrary are simply wrong." https://t.co/NVPTfYBRcZ

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https://twitter.com/GMB_union/status/1065950886655070208

 

• U.K.-based trade union GMB organizes a protest against Amazon on Black Friday to oppose what it calls "inhuman" working conditions for Amazon warehouse workers.
• Amazon has denied claims it mistreats employees and says it has created 25,000 well-paying jobs in the U.K.
• GMB bases its claims on a Freedom of Information disclosure that showed ambulances had been called to Amazon warehouse facilities 600 times over three years.
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•  On the biggest shopping day of the year, U.K.-based trade union GMB is organizing a protest against Amazon for what it calls "inhuman" conditions for warehouse workers.Amazon has been under a microscope recently as it gets ready to bring 25,000 jobs to each of two new "headquarters" locations in New York and Arlington, Virginia. Since the announcement earlier this month, politicians and residents in those areas have questioned the benefit Amazon will bring to their cities as the influx of new workers will likely cause a strain on infrastructure and spike housing prices. 
• https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmazonWeAreNotRobots?src=hash

 Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesJeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc., listens during an Economic Club of Washington discussion in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. On the biggest shopping day of the year, U.K.-based trade union GMB is organizing a protest against Amazon for what it calls "inhuman" conditions for warehouse workers.Amazon has been under a microscope recently as it gets ready to bring 25,000 jobs to each of two new "headquarters" locations in New York and Arlington, Virginia. Since the announcement earlier this month, politicians and residents in those areas have questioned the benefit Amazon will bring to their cities as the influx of new workers will likely cause a strain on infrastructure and spike housing prices.

GMB UNION✔@GMB_unionWe're staging #BlackFriday protests across the UK in anger at the awful conditions people work under at @Amazon warehouses.

Workers are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious and being taken away in ambulances.

Make sure people see this. Hit retweet #AmazonWeAreNotRobots634:51 AM - Nov 23, 2018

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tony warr@twgmbMarched off site @Amazon Milton Keynes but still plenty of support and interest from #AmazonWeAreNotRobots workers.  @GMBLondonRegion @GMB_union standing strong. #GMBUnion4Amazon @GMBunionAmazon #blackfridayuk3611:23 PM - Nov 22, 2018

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GMB UNION✔@GMB_union · 7hThis #BlackFriday Amazon workers worldwide have come together with one message for billionaire Jeff Bezos. We are not robots, treat us with dignity and respect.

Please share their message #AmazonWeAreNotRobots

Jamie Webber@webjameI was going to buy loads from amazon this Friday but the delivery was insane. Come on @AmazonUK treat your staff better. I pay for prime and not getting the service. More staff, less hours. You'll still make profits. And pay your taxes. #AmazonBlackFriday #AmazonWeAreNotRobots14:53 AM - Nov 23, 2018Twitter Ads info and privacy

See Jamie Webber's other TweetsTwitter Ads info and privacyGMB bases its allegations in part on a report that ambulances had been called to Amazon warehouses 600 times over the past three years as of May, a Freedom of Information request filed by the union revealed. Of the calls, 115 were to a single facility in Rugeley with 1,800 to 2,000 workers, the Guardian reported. That compares to eight ambulance calls to a nearby Tesco facility of a similar physical size with about 1,300 workers, according to the Guardian.In a statement, Amazon said, "Our European Fulfillment Network is fully operational and we continue to focus on delivering for our customers. Any reports to the contrary are simply wrong."

https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmazonWeAreNotRobots?src=hash

https://t.co/NVPTfYBRcZ

In a separate statement, Amazon noted that it has created 25,000 well-paying jobs in the U.K. and addressed the allegations of unsafe working conditions."All of our sites are safe places to work and reports to the contrary are simply wrong," Amazon said. "According to the U.K. Government's Health and Safety Executive, Amazon has over 40% fewer injuries on average than other transportation and warehousing companies in the U.K. 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 centers across the UK uk.amazonfctours.com."