Amazon and Walmart both use over-the-top surveillance in their warehouses — and the "concerning" practice not only undermines the rights of these mega corporations' employees but also puts their health and well-being in jeopardy, Oxfam, an international antipoverty organization, said in a report released Wednesday.

[...]

Oxfam's report quotes several unidentified warehouse workers for the retail giants describing harsh labor conditions, including one Amazon worker who likened their experiences on the warehouse floor to "slavery."

"Amazon has been a pioneer in the area of worker surveillance and management in its warehouses, and Walmart, long known for adopting repressive practices to monitor workers, is also entering a new phase of accelerated technology deployment across its facilities," the report says.

[...]

Amazon has disputed claims that it uses technology to monitor its warehouse workers, while Walmart said the report fails to accurately depict the company's use of technology.

"While we respect Oxfam and its mission, we have strong disagreements with the characterizations and conclusions made throughout this paper — many based on flawed methodology and hyperbolic anecdotes," Maureen Lynch Vogel, an Amazon spokesperson, told Business Insider in a statement. "In reality, Amazon has made notable safety gains and enriched the communities in which we operate, providing safe, good paying jobs with health benefits and educational opportunities."

Vogel went on to attack the research itself.

"Traditionally, researchers work to disprove pre-existing beliefs and biases, but the organizations involved in this paper did the opposite — they started with biases and sought to prove them — which is disappointing," Vogel said. "We're not perfect, but we're making measurable progress and our employees' health, safety, and well-being will always be our top priority." 

A Walmart spokesperson told BI in a statement: "Oxfam's claims are based on incomplete and misleading information. This report inaccurately represents Walmart's use of technology and Walmart's publicly available disclosures around data privacy and worker safety."

[...]

In a seven-page response to Oxfam viewed by BI, Tessie Petion, the head of ESG engagement at Amazon, wrote that the organization's report "illustrates a misunderstanding of what the technology in our facilities does and doesn't do."