Only 21% of Amazon India employees feel work environment is safe: Report

The e-commerce company denies the findings of a UNI Global Union study that claimed the company sets tough targets for warehouse workers and drivers

The report was commissioned by UNI Global Union and conducted by Jarrow Insights over a 50-day period from February 2 to March 22, 2024. (Photo: Bloomberg)

Shiva Rajora New Delhi

Only one in five Amazon warehouse workers and drivers in India feel the work environment is safe, according to a UNI Global Union report released on Wednesday, prompting the e-commerce company to deny the claims.

The report by the global federation of service unions comes weeks after media reports of unsafe working conditions at Amazon warehouses in and around Delhi NCR during last month’s heatwave.

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“Only 21.3 percent of warehouse workers and drivers feel that the work environment at Amazon is safe, while nearly 45 percent of warehouse workers and 47 percent of delivery drivers feel that the work environment at Amazon is unsafe,” said the report, published in partnership with Amazon India Workers Association (AIWA), based on a survey of 1,838 former and current warehouse workers and drivers associated with Amazon India.

The report found that four in five warehouse workers said Amazon’s targets were “difficult” or “very difficult” to meet. A full 86 percent of warehouse workers and 28 percent of drivers said the company didn’t give them enough time to use the bathroom.

One in five delivery drivers surveyed reported being injured on the job. The report found that 46 percent of warehouse workers and 37 percent of delivery drivers said their pay was insufficient to meet their basic needs.

Amazon has rejected the claims, saying they are factually incorrect, unfounded and contrary to what its employees have said.

“The data cited seems questionable at best and deliberately designed at worst to drive a particular narrative that certain groups are trying to present as fact. In contrast, in our latest internal survey at our Manesar (Haryana) fulfillment center — conducted randomly and anonymously — 87 percent of our workforce said they were satisfied with their jobs, and a full eight in 10 would recommend Amazon as a great place to work,” an Amazon India spokesperson said in a statement.

The report was commissioned by UNI Global Union and conducted by Jarrow Insights over a 50-day period from February 2 to March 22, 2024. The report used both on-site and digital methods to provide a representative sample of Amazon employees in India.

Last year, the union conducted a similar survey in eight countries, including the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom, to report high blood pressure and harmful working conditions at Amazon.

“The findings in India reflect the global alarm that workers around the world are raising about inhumane productivity demands, inadequate safety measures and low pay,” union UNI Global Union said in a statement.