(Financial Times) -- Amazon moved to curtail a growing public relations disaster over alleged mistreatment of foreign temporary workers in Germany by firing a security firm that a television documentary linked to the country's far-right.
An ARD documentary last
week examined the treatment of seasonal workers hired by an Amazon
subcontractor in Germany. According to the report, workers were housed
in cramped conditions under constant watch by security guards.
The programme sparked a
storm of public anger about the treatment of workers, many of whom had
been at Amazon during the busy Christmas holiday period.
The world's biggest
online retailer by sales said the security service in question would no
longer be used by the company, "effective immediately".
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"As a responsible
employer of approximately 8,000 salaried logistics employees, Amazon has
zero-tolerance for discrimination and intimidation and expects the same
from every company we work with," the company said.
The outcry reflects
growing concern in Germany about working conditions in the low wage
sector, which has grown rapidly since the federal government introduced
labour market reforms a decade ago.
Trade unions regularly identify the most egregious examples and have pressed for greater regulation and better pay.
On their arrival in
Germany the temps were allegedly housed several to a cabin at a vacant
holiday park where they were dependent on unreliable and overcrowded bus
services. The workers were monitored by a security company called
Hensel European Security Services, whose initials, the programme pointed
out, spell out the surname of Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess.
Some of the security
personnel, in black uniforms and with military-style haircuts, were
shown wearing a clothing brand linked in the minds of most Germans with
the far-right scene.
Hensel European Security
denied any connection with far-right radicalism and noted its high
proportion of immigrant workers of various religions. It said its
presence on site was necessary because of the potential for conflict
among workers who did not know each other and to prevent damage to the
property.
Germany's labour
minister threatened to cancel the licences of the agencies contracted by
Amazon if the allegations proved correct.
Amazon has created
thousands of jobs in Europe at a time of economic hardship but has
repeatedly faced criticism for the conditions at its distribution
centres.
A Financial Times
in-depth report into an Amazon warehouse in the UK found workers often
had to walk between seven and 15 miles each day and pass through
security scanners before they went home to ensure they did not steal
anything.
The case highlights how
working conditions in Amazon warehouses are becoming a reputational
issue for the company in Europe in the same way as they are in the US.
Amazon is known for its secrecy, but the allegations have forced the
company to respond.
In the US, Amazon
warehouses have come under scrutiny in the past two years as local media
have reported stories of tough productivity targets, soaring
temperatures and on-the-job injuries. Amazon has said that its safety
record cannot be portrayed with anecdotes and that its rate of
work-related injuries and illnesses is lower than the average in the
warehouse industry.
Additional reporting by Barney Jopson in New York
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