
UK lawmakers have called on Amazon to clarify comments made by a senior executive at a recent parliamentary hearing after an advocacy group accused him of providing “misleading” evidence about the company’s treatment of warehouse workers.
An Amazon spokesperson Reuters told the company forcefully denied the executive – European policy chief Brian Palmer – had misled parliament when he testified against the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee on Nov. 15 as part of an expanded panel on technology in the workplace.
The question is whether Amazon uses tracking technology in its UK warehouses primarily to monitor employee productivity – a claim Amazon has repeatedly denied – or to promote employee safety, as the company says.
In response to a question about workplace supervision from the chairman of the committee, Labor MP Darren Jones, Palmer said it was mainly used to monitor goods rather than people: “They are not primarily or even secondarily intended to identify underachievers. Performance-related feedback is really focused on safety.”
Palmer also told MPs that Amazon is “outperforming the industry” on employee safety, saying warehouse workers can easily access their performance targets through “online tools that are made available to every employee.”
In a Dec. 2 letter, seen by Reuters, Foxglove, a London-based worker advocacy group, wrote to the committee challenging Palmer’s statements.
“Brian Palmer’s evidence was materially misleading in several respects,” the letter said, refuting his statements about the use of tracking tools, Amazon’s safety record and the transparency of employee performance goals. It cited legal filings related to US lawsuits where regulators say safety risks have arisen due to productivity pressures, and employee testimonials at five UK warehouses.
“The committee may want to clarify with Mr Palmer and Amazon whether the company can prove the situation is different in UK warehouses – a matter Amazon should be asked to demonstrate with evidence, rather than just claim,” said the group.
Commissioner Andy McDonald, MP for Middelburg for the opposition Labor Party, said he had written to express concern about Palmer’s testimony the groupafter looking at Foxglove’s letter.
“We were extremely unhappy with his testimony,” McDonald told Reuters. “If someone comes before the committee and misleads us, they are obligated to correct the record.”
However, instead of recalling Palmer, committee chair Jones wrote a letter to Amazon outlining eight points he says need further clarification, regarding allegations of employee surveillance and health and safety data.
“If the committee is not satisfied with the quality of the answers, we will call Amazon to provide further public evidence,” he wrote.
Palmer declined one Reuters request for remark.
An Amazon spokesperson said Amazon used CCTV cameras “to ensure employee safety and product security”.
Amazon has a system in place to recognize strong employee performance and to encourage coaching for those who are not meeting their goals, the spokesperson said.
“It is wrong to suggest that using these standard business practices amounts to employee surveillance,” the Amazon spokesperson added.
Labour’s shadow minister for labor rights and protection, MP Justin Madders, told Reuters his party would introduce legislation “to protect workers from surveillance” if it won Britain’s next general election.
The incident comes as Amazon is being accused by the U.S. Department of Labor of failing to properly record work-related injuries and illnesses at six warehouses in five states.
Amazon has until Jan. 24 to respond to Jones’ letter.
Photo: (TBEN Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
subjects
Legislation Amazon