"Work conditions for delivery drivers seen as unsustainable", 6 September 2023

On a sweltering day in July, parcel delivery driver Takahiro Otaki called his subcontractor to say for the first time he would not meet his morning deadline for deliveries.

Since 2021, Otaki, 51, has worked as a sole proprietor for a delivery company that subcontracts parcel deliveries for Amazon.com Inc...

On that July morning, Otaki's smartphone’s Amazon app showed 132 parcels to deliver to 96 destinations...

When he first began working as a delivery driver, Otaki had about 100 parcels a day. But that number began increasing in the spring of 2022, and now there are days when he has to deliver 200 parcels...

In September 2022, Otaki and fellow drivers formed a labor union and entered into collective bargaining with Amazon and the subcontractor. The union is demanding higher pay and a more manageable number of parcels to deliver...