WEBVTT - Introducing: Megacorp

0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:04.280
<v Speaker 1>This is a podcast about Amazon, a company that's made

0:00:04.320 --> 0:00:08.320
<v Speaker 1>its founder Jeff Bezos the richest man on Earth, whilst

0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:11.520
<v Speaker 1>also being voted one of the worst places to work.

0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:15.360
<v Speaker 1>Let's look at how they treat warehouse workers, the people

0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:20.759
<v Speaker 1>most vital to keeping Amazon stock moving forward. On average,

0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:24.239
<v Speaker 1>Amazon warehouse workers are paid around seventeen dollars an hour

0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:27.280
<v Speaker 1>in the US and around fourteen pounds an hour in

0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:31.120
<v Speaker 1>the UK. For these wages, employees will often work ten

0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.360
<v Speaker 1>to twelve hour shifts, constantly on their feet, where they're

0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:38.000
<v Speaker 1>expected to hit never ending targets. A package must be

0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:41.240
<v Speaker 1>dealt with every thirty seconds. If you're working as a picker,

0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:45.199
<v Speaker 1>you're expected to process three hundred items per hour. You've

0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:48.120
<v Speaker 1>given nine seconds to take each item from a robot

0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:52.680
<v Speaker 1>that delivers shelf upon shelf of Amazon packages. Staff are

0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:55.400
<v Speaker 1>constantly filmed in the warehouse as they work, and their

0:00:55.440 --> 0:01:00.000
<v Speaker 1>toilet breakes are even time. Workers get two fifteen minute breaks,

0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:02.720
<v Speaker 1>much of which can be taken up by just walking

0:01:02.760 --> 0:01:06.040
<v Speaker 1>to the toilet through the first expanse of the warehouse.

0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:09.240
<v Speaker 1>All over the world, workers have voiced anger at these

0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:15.039
<v Speaker 1>ridiculous working conditions. Yet, as the Amazon pyramid climbs problems continue.

0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:19.520
<v Speaker 1>Amazon has been spying on customers through various different home

0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:23.680
<v Speaker 1>security platforms. They've also been union busting, and the court

0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:27.360
<v Speaker 1>recently has ruled that their tactics were actually illegal. They

0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:30.600
<v Speaker 1>don't want their workers to organize. If that wasn't bad enough,

0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:34.120
<v Speaker 1>they've done deals with the intelligence agencies in the US

0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:38.920
<v Speaker 1>and the UK, specifically the CIA and m I six.

0:01:39.720 --> 0:01:43.399
<v Speaker 1>Amazon is not the people friendly company it claims to be.

0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.800
<v Speaker 1>I'm Jake Hanrahan. With this new series, I'll be looking

0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:51.600
<v Speaker 1>into the many scandals at the heart of Amazon. Listen

0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:55.480
<v Speaker 1>to Megacorps on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

0:01:55.600 --> 0:02:09.080
<v Speaker 1>or wherever you get your podcasts.