Amazon workers claim robots are treated better

Workers of the online shopping giant Amazon are scheduled to stage the first-ever UK strike against the company on Wednesday in a protest over pay.

Members of the GMB union are walking out at Amazon's Coventry warehouse over what they call a "derisory" 50p an hour pay rise.

Workers told about "severe" conditions, claiming they are constantly monitored and upbraided for "idle time" lasting just a few minutes.

Amazon said it has a system "that recognises great performance". A spokesman said it "also encourages coaching to help employees improve if they are not meeting their performance goals".

But two Amazon workers, who are members of the GMB, said the robots in the warehouse had been being treated better than the workers.

Darren Westwood and Garfield Hilton described to the BBC how even a trip to the toilet can lead to questions by managers.

"The thing is with stopping work is that they want to know why," said Hilton. "So if the time is beyond a couple of minutes they can see it on the system."

Mr Hilton, who has diabetes, said it is not always possible to find toilets close by in the building and the process of locating one and returning can sometimes take upwards of 15 minutes.

"They will then question you "what were you doing?'."

They said that managers track staff performance and time that is not spent scanning items is accrued.

Workers at the Coventry warehouse scan stock which is sent out to Amazon fulfilment centres, to be shipped to consumers.

Instead of scanning, workers might be asked to handle pallets. "So when there's problems with a pallet or a box, that time will accrue," said Mr Westwood.

"Technically could add up to 30 minutes. [The managers] will come down and say, 'during today, you've had 34 minutes of idle time. What were you doing?."

A spokesman for Amazon said: "Performance is only measured when an employee is at their station and logged in to do their job.

But Mr Westwood and Mr Hilton said working conditions are taking a toll on their colleagues, some of whom are working 60-hour weeks to keep up with the cost of living.

In August, Amazon offered workers a 50p per hour rise. A spokesman for Amazon said: "We appreciate the great work our teams do throughout the year and we're proud to offer competitive pay which starts at a minimum of between £10.50 and £11.45 per hour, depending on location."

He said this is a 29 per cent increase in the minimum hourly wage paid to Amazon employees since 2018.

But unions members want to be paid £15 an hour. Mr Westwood said the 50p offer was "a smack in the mouth".

Amazon sales and profits soared as Covid restrictions forced people to shop online. Between 2019 and 2020, profits nearly doubled to $21.3bn (£17.2bn) and rose again the following year to $33.3bn.

Growth has been uneven since economies have reopened and after taking on thousands of staff since 2019, Amazon is now laying off 18,000 workers.