In a recent report led by Senator Bernie Sanders, Amazon’s workplace safety practices have come under scrutiny due to the company’s emphasis on productivity and speed.
The report from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions indicates that Amazon’s warehouse injury rates are almost double those of non-Amazon warehouses. For the past seven years, Amazon has reported significantly higher injury incidents per 100 workers compared to the industry averages.
Amazon, disputing the report’s findings, considers the data ‘fundamentally flawed.’ The company maintains that it benchmarks its safety performance against similar large-scale employers, which Amazon claims is a more accurate representation of its standing. Notably, Amazon asserts that the comparison to larger warehouses could be misleading because only 40% of its facilities qualify as large under these criteria.
Despite Amazon’s claim of improved safety metrics since 2019, the Senate committee report highlights an unusual spike in injury rates that year, peaking at 9.01 reportable incidents. This contrasts with the industry rates which have remained between 4.8 and 5.7. Amazon’s results have stayed relatively stable since 2017, fluctuating between 6.54 to 7.74, with its workers reportedly facing greater risks than their peers in other companies.
The report attributes high injury rates to Amazon’s intense focus on efficiency, which reportedly pressures employees to exceed safe working limits. A former Amazon worker, identified as RN, shared with the committee, ‘There is not a safe way to make rate without being injured. There is not a single person I worked with while I was at Amazon that didn’t have an injury.’
Amazon expresses pride in its documented safety improvements, positioning itself as committed to investing in safety enhancements continuously. However, Sanders’ report questions the sincerity and effectiveness of these efforts, suggesting that Amazon affects national safety statistics due to its sheer size in the sector. This prompts significant concerns about the broader impact on workforce well-being.
The discourse around Amazon’s workplace safety highlights critical conversations about corporate responsibility and worker protection. As Amazon continues to grow, its influence on industry standards and its actual safety practices remain under the spotlight.
Source: Businessinsider
