Union members across Australia are protesting at Amazon sites, calling out the company for dodging taxes, exploiting workers, and threatening Aussie jobs and media. MEAA, TWU and SDA are joining forces to demand fair pay, better protections, safer workplaces and real change for workers, along with better regulation of Amazon.
From worker exploitation to sinister uses of AI, to massive tax avoidance and union busting, Amazon’s behaviour is driving negative changes in communities and industry. The “Amazon effect” is the impact that Amazon’s dominance in e-commerce has had on the retail industry, consumer behaviour and working conditions.
The TWU says Amazon’s system is one sided and stacked against drivers. The Amazon Flex system under which delivery drivers are engaged is destroying fair pay in transport, with many drivers earning below minimum wage and facing unsafe conditions because there are no standards in place. The TWU has used new laws to apply for standards, but Amazon must do more to lift pay, safety and conditions. Amazon workers are being squeezed so hard that it is inevitable that shortcuts will be taken, placing workers at risk of physical and psychological injury.
Workers and their unions are campaigning together for Amazon to make the industry fairer, safer and more sustainable, calling for the company to:
- End excessive surveillance and create a culture of safety, not fear
- Pay fair wages and stop worker exploitation
- Pay their fair share of tax (they paid just 0.8% on $3.12 billion in earnings!)
Since Amazon has arrived in Australia it has already demonstrated its anti-union, anti-worker tactics. It has failed to train workers on safety, it has called police to block union officials from inspecting conditions, and it has sacked dozens of drivers after they spoke to their union.
Unions are calling on government to counter the problem via transport reform to set enforceable minimum standards across the transport industry.
Read about Amazon’s practices, their business model, and the broader economic and social implications of Amazon’s practices here.
Read more: - TWU | What's outrageous? Unsafe wages! - SDA Vic | It's time to make Amazon pay
The Amazon Effect - Transport Workers’ Union