Speaker 1: This is a podcast about Amazon, a company that's made
Speaker 1: its founder Jeff Bezos the richest man on Earth, whilst
Speaker 1: also being voted one of the worst places to work.
Speaker 1: Let's look at how they treat warehouse workers, the people
Speaker 1: most vital to keeping Amazon stock moving forward. On average,
Speaker 1: Amazon warehouse workers are paid around seventeen dollars an hour
Speaker 1: in the US and around fourteen pounds an hour in
Speaker 1: the UK. For these wages, employees will often work ten
Speaker 1: to twelve hour shifts, constantly on their feet, where they're
Speaker 1: expected to hit never ending targets. A package must be
Speaker 1: dealt with every thirty seconds. If you're working as a picker,
Speaker 1: you're expected to process three hundred items per hour. You've
Speaker 1: given nine seconds to take each item from a robot
Speaker 1: that delivers shelf upon shelf of Amazon packages. Staff are
Speaker 1: constantly filmed in the warehouse as they work, and their
Speaker 1: toilet breakes are even time. Workers get two fifteen minute breaks,
Speaker 1: much of which can be taken up by just walking
Speaker 1: to the toilet through the first expanse of the warehouse.
Speaker 1: All over the world, workers have voiced anger at these
Speaker 1: ridiculous working conditions. Yet, as the Amazon pyramid climbs problems continue.
Speaker 1: Amazon has been spying on customers through various different home
Speaker 1: security platforms. They've also been union busting, and the court
Speaker 1: recently has ruled that their tactics were actually illegal. They
Speaker 1: don't want their workers to organize. If that wasn't bad enough,
Speaker 1: they've done deals with the intelligence agencies in the US
Speaker 1: and the UK, specifically the CIA and m I six.
Speaker 1: Amazon is not the people friendly company it claims to be.
Speaker 1: I'm Jake Hanrahan. With this new series, I'll be looking
Speaker 1: into the many scandals at the heart of Amazon. Listen
Speaker 1: to Megacorps on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.