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- The British GMB union is organizing a protest against Amazon on Black Friday to oppose what it calls "inhumane" working conditions for Amazon's warehouse workers.
- Amazon has denied allegations that it is mistreating employees and has created 25,000 well-paying jobs in the UK.
- GMB relies on a disclosure of information on access to information that ambulances were called 600 times in Amazon's warehouses over three years.
At the biggest shopping day of the year, GMB, a UK-based union, is organizing a protest against Amazon AMZN for "inhumane" conditions for warehouse workers.
Amazon recently went under the microscope while it is preparing to create 25,000 jobs in each of the two new "headquarters" in New York and Arlington, Virginia. Since the announcement made this month, politicians and residents of these areas are questioning about the benefits that Amazon will bring to their cities because the influx of new workers will likely result in tensions on infrastructure and push up housing prices.
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GMB bases its allegations in part on a report that ambulances have been called to Amazon warehouses 600 times in the last three years from May, according to a request for access to the filed information. by the union. According to the Guardian, 115 calls were sent to a single facility in Rugeley, with 1,800 to 2,000 workers. That compares to eight ambulance calls to a nearby Tesco facility of similar physical size, with about 1,300 workers, according to the Guardian.
In a statement, Amazon said: "Our European distribution network is fully operational and we continue to focus on delivering to customers – all reports to the contrary are simply not true."
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In a separate statement, Amazon claimed to have created 25,000 well paying jobs in the UK and responded to allegations of unsafe working conditions.
"All of our sites are safe workplaces and the contrary information is simply wrong," said Amazon. "According to the British government health and safety officer, Amazon has an average of 40% fewer injuries than other transport and warehousing companies in the UK We encourage everyone to compare our wages , our benefits and our working conditions and to come see for yourself – public tours we offer every day in our centers across the UK uk.amazonfctours.com. "
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In a press release, GMB said it expects hundreds of people to participate in protests at five Amazon warehouses in the UK and that Italian and Spanish workers will "act". CNBC was unable to independently confirm the number of people who attended the demonstrations.
"The conditions under which our members work at Amazon are downright inhuman," GMB Secretary General Tim Roache said in a press release. "They break their bones, are stunned and taken away in ambulances, we say that's enough, they are people who make money in Amazon." People with children, houses, bills to pay – these are not robots. "
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "GMB did not immediately respond to the request CNBC commentary.
Deirdre Bosa of -CNBC and Elizabeth Schulze contributed to this report."data-reactid =" 32 "> GMB did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Deirdre Bosa of -CNBC and Elizabeth Schulze contributed to this report.
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