E-commerce giant Amazon is under scrutiny by the US Congress over the safety practices in its warehouse. The company will be investigated over its treatment towards the workers in the warehouse. The investigation has been announced by Senator Bernie Sanders, who also called the company as one of the most dangerous employers. Sanders threw light towards a recent report that mentioned about the injury rates at the warehouses of Amazon are higher than the other similar facilities. However, Amazon has disagreed on the allegations.
Steve Kelly, a spokesperson from Amazon explained that they have invested nearly $1billion to improve safety since the year 2019 and has also marked reduced injuries by 23 percent in the United States in that time. Kelly added that they have always taken the health and safety of their employees seriously and added that they will keep finding new ways to improve and are also proud of the progress that they have made so far. Mr. Sanders referred to a report that was actually published by the Strategic Organizing Centre. With the help of the government based data, it was found that the injuries rate in 2022 was 70 percent higher than the non-Amazon warehouses.
It has also been alleged by the US Labor Department about the intolerable conditions of the warehouses where the staff processes the orders. Ever since the pandemic, Amazon has been under the scrutiny over its treatment towards its workers. There have also been reports about walkouts in Europe, tendencies by the workers at the US warehouses to unionise and regulatory investigations.
At present, nearly hundreds of Amazon workers in the United Kingdom in Coventry are on strike. Amazon has earlier also been criticized over its tax practices and wages. The company has been notified about the investigation while informing that its practices to increase its profits have led to unsafe physical environments apart from intense pressure to work.
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