Amazon happens to be the world’s number one eCommerce website for domestic use and has landed up in a big mess due to its ignorance of worker safety and health issues as per the global standards and provisions prescribed under International labor law.
The recent issues came up when the first shareholder meeting was fruitful for Amazon as well as for Jaasy himself. Even though the voting results were never out, Amazon claims to have benefited from the shareholder meetup but the reports from several other sources pointed out that the company faced objections on various activities and most importantly fifteen of its board members were voted down this year.
The main reason that was pointed out was the exploitation of workers in the company which mainly indicated towards ill-treatment of the warehouse workers and the poor wage rates which came to an approximate figure of $15 per hour. Objections were mainly raised due to its safety measures taken for the employees and the unfair paycheck which was too less compared to the other players in the market.
Amazon has been talked about quite frequently for not treating its staff properly and not taking care of heads such as Provident funds, employment insurance, and any other safety or health benefits which are enjoyed by most of the workers across the globe
The situation was almost going to get better when the decision of its shareholders decided to form a warehouse union in New York, however, it failed due to the interference of amazon.
The proposals made by the shareholders differed by nature but were the same in their scope. The shareholder proposals requested reports on:
1. Whether Amazon’s retirement plans invested in sustainable businesses
2. Whether AWS does diligence to know if cloud customers are using its services in a way that contributes to human rights violations
2. Specific uses of Amazon technologies by government agencies that violate privacy and civil rights
4. How to change the director nomination process to require the inclusion of hourly workers
5. The sustainability of Amazon’s packaging
6. Worker health and safety disparities between corporate and hourly employees
1. General warehouse working conditions
2. Whether Amazon’s use of concealment clauses “in the context of harassment, discrimination and unlawful acts” has created risk for shareholders
3. Whether Amazon’s charitable giving lines up with shareholder interests
4. Alternative forms of tax reporting
5. Whether freedom of association has been violated
6. Where Amazon’s lobbying dollars go
7. A diversity and equity audit
8. Gender/racial pay disparities
However, the top officials of Amazon including the C.E.O refrained from such allegations stating that they were already doing most of the things and we’re planning for the rest whereas the reports by OSHA 2021 showed that the number of accidents at Amazon’s warehouses was double the frequency as compared to other companies which compete with it.
Amazon gave a ridiculous statement regarding its carbon emissions which have shown a rise over the rears but the company claims that they are eco-friendly because the cost of waste disposal has gone down.
Well, the past and present have proven to be miserable for Amazon’s warehouse employees where their truck drivers had to get drunk as they never got enough rest between shifts, and on the other hand, the famous incident where the workers were stuck in a tornado.
As of today the shareholders and workers fight unitedly until they get justice but most importantly they may face a serious workforce-related crisis in the forthcoming future the company has mentioned that they are in a state of conflict and dispute.
