“Amazon, Let Workers Unionize”, November 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on societies and economies around the world. But Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) has boomed … hiring at least 175,000 additional workers…

But this … has exacerbated longstanding concerns about the US-based corporation’s approach to health and safety and its adversarial relationship with trade unions…

International human rights law and standards are clear that workers have rights to join and form trade unions, and to safe and healthy working conditions …

… [T]he company has consistently sought to limit the ability of trade unions to operate …

Amazon also uses technology to engage in inappropriate surveillance and data collection from its workforce, including to undermine workers’ right to organize…

… In France, trade union representatives said that Amazon did not engage with them over health and safety concerns at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic... [I]n Poland … Amazon would not engage with [workers’] health and safety concerns ... In the USA, Amazon disciplined and dismissed workers who spoke out about health and safety conditions ... In the UK, Amazon continues to obstruct efforts by the GMB union to organise workers…

Amnesty International expressed concerns over Amazon’s treatment of the unions in letters to the company … Amazon responded … “across Amazon we place enormous value on having daily conversations with each associate…”

Amazon must stop treating the human rights of its workers as a choice rather than a responsibility and should start engaging constructively with trade unions on matters including workers’ health and safety…