CHAIR OF PARLIAMENT’S TOP HUMAN RIGHTS BODY ‘APPALLED’ BY AMAZON’S TREATMENT OF WORKERS

CHAIR OF PARLIAMENT’S TOP HUMAN RIGHTS BODY ‘APPALLED’ BY AMAZON’S TREATMENT OF WORKERS

Comments made on same day Business Secretary snubs invite to meet striking Amazon workers in Parliament

Parliament’s top human rights body branded Amazon’s treatment of workers as ‘appalling’.

The Chair of the Joint Committee On Human Rights made the comments after hearing evidence from GMB this week. [1].

On the same day [Wednesday] Kemi Badenoch MP, Secretary Of State for Business and Trade, ignored requests from striking workers at Amazon to meet with them in Parliament.

Amazon workers had invited the Tory minister to hear first hand about the experiences of low paid workers at the retail giant after staging the first ever strike action at Amazon in the UK.

The invite coincided with a visit of Amazon strikers to Parliament to mark their 19th day of strike action, at which over 50 Members Of Parliament backed the workers campaign for pay justice and union recognition [2].

Amanda Gearing, GMB Senior Organiser, said:

“Our members invited the Secretary of State to meet them in good faith, it’s deeply disappointing that they have been snubbed by the Government like this.

“The comments from the chair of Parliament’s top Human Rights committee show just how widespread concern about Amazon’s treatment of UK workers is.

“These are low paid workers that have made history, staging the first ever industrial action at Amazon in UK history. For Kemi Badenoch to display such indifference to the experiences of low paid workers is staggering.

“We would welcome any opportunity to return to the committee, and give evidence alongside Amazon.”