Amazon’s Employees: Don’t Get Ill Or Being Fired
Dec 15th, 2008 | Category: NewsBy Jimmy Vu
[TimeOnline UK] - According to a TimeOnline’s article, Amazon’s employees will be fired if they take more than five days off sick even if they have legitimate doctor’s note. In addition, they are forced to work a 10.5 hour overnight shift at the end of a five-day week that means they have to work every day of the week.
Here some other regulations applied to the staff, said the article:
- Set quotas for the number of items to be picked or packed in an hour that even a manager described as “ridiculous”. Those packing heavy Xbox games consoles had to pack 140 an hour to reach their target.
- Set against each other with a bonus scheme that penalises staff if any other member of their group fails to hit the quota.
- Made to walk up to 14 miles a shift to collect items for packing.
Given only one break of 15 minutes and another of 20 minutes per eight-hour shift and told they had to get permission to go to the toilet. Amazon said workers wanted the shorter breaks in exchange for shorter shifts.
“I hope management are prepared for the possible consequences of their actions.” commented Gordon Charlton, a reader from Hertfordshire. If this is true, Amazon may face customer’s boycott as well.
They are ripe for a class action lawsuit. It is illegal in most cases, to discriminate on some of these claims. As far as the workforce… they not opened the exit door, but have also shouted “fire!”
Well, all I can say is that I will look for other articles and news to confirm the points made here and if true that will be the end of me ordering stuff from Amazon.com and I will tell as many people as I can to do the same and to carry the message on. If any other readers can point to other links that would back up these allegations please post. Thanks.
Everyone I’ve ever talked to that worked at amazon has told me how horrible it is there. People are willing to put up with just about anything for a paycheck anymore. What choice do they have though, really? This is the kind of crap that happens when the world is ruled by mega-corporations. I guess it’s time for a revolution.
Damn, that sucks. I kinda liked Amazon until I read this. I hope these claims can soon be proved or disproved.
Whatever happened to labour laws?
Yeah, I probably wouldn’t boycott Amazon.
I had an engineering offer at amazon and tuned it down and the prick offering me the job was dumbfounded. He called me back twenty times in twenty minutes leaving irate messages. I remember thinking to myself that this really set a bad example. Amazon sucks
I love Amazon because its a great place to shop on-line, and it sucks that they are doing this, but it does not affect me. I don’t work there. Honestly in an economy like this, with 10% + unemployment, those people are lucky to have a job, and they should do the best that they can.
@Don “This is the kind of crap that happens when the world is ruled by mega-corporations. I guess it’s time for a revolution.”
Don if you don’t like it, maybe you should start a revolution. It’s liberal democrats like you that are responsible for all of the economic crap that is going on right now. You want to get paid $40/hr plus benefits for working in a factory or packing boxes. That is ridiculous! Why do you think companies outsource? It is absurd to pay incompetent workers 40 or more dollars per hour plus benefits to work in a factory or assembly plant. Honestly, we live in a country where everyone has a right to a free education. If you don’t want to have a crappy job, then you should get an education.
except the crap they’re doing is illegal
My husband WAS an amazon employee. Like most - he had to put in a specified amount of hours as a temp before being hired on full-time. Two weeks after being hired by AMAZON, he suffered a heart attack on the job on May 15. On Dec. 30. he was sent home by the on-site nurse because he had the flu. (There are signs posted everywhere at the plant - If you have the flu, don’t come in, go home, etc. The nurse even signed off on the paperwork. He had a doctor’s excuse. He was fired last Friday (via telephone). The job sucks - unreasonable hours, unreasonable quotas to fulfill, etc. My husband’s friend was fired 2 days before Christmas via telephone. I will NEVER buy another amazon product as long as I live.