Remember those supposedly funny assembly line segments in Looney Tunes and other cartoons as kids? Instances where factory workers would be toiling like machines doing never-ending chores? Turns out present day there are companies treating their employees in somewhat a similar manner. This holds especially true for Amazon India’s five warehouses in Haryana’s Manesar where employees have been asked to take an ‘oath’ where they abstain from taking toilet or water breaks till, they achieve their targets.
In a report by Indian Express, employees at the ‘inbound’ and ‘outbound’ teams at Amazon India’s warehouse have taken the ‘oath’ at least once.
The outbound team handles articles destined for shipment out of the warehouse, while the inbound team manages articles received from various sources. What makes it worse is how it affects the women who are working in such trying situations.
As per the report, a 24-year-old who works for five days a week, 10 hours a day and earns Rs 10,088 a month revealed that even if they work without breaks, including lunch and tea breaks which are designated 30 minutes each, they cannot unload more than four trucks a day.
The target? Unloading packages from six trucks, measuring 24 feet each. It was the same worker who brought to light the plight of women employees in the organisation.
A woman working at the Manesar warehouse of Amazon reported the lack of a restroom in the premises.
“If we feel unwell, our only options are the washroom or locker room. There’s a sick room with a bed, but we’re asked to leave after 10 minutes,” she claimed.
Her customer returns department also took an oath: “Repeat after me, we will attain the target, we won’t go to the washroom, we will not drink,” she recited.
Amazon has faced similar allegations internationally. According to The Guardian, in 2022 and 2023, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations against the company for unsafe working conditions, ergonomic hazards, and failure to properly report injuries at six warehouses.
In India, labour associations have alleged violations of the Factories Act, 1948, at the five warehouses operating in and around Manesar. Despite Haryana amending its work hours to less than 10 hours a day, Amazon now has employees working from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm. The Act mandates that if a factory worker exceeds nine hours a day or 48 hours a week, they are entitled to twice their ordinary wages, a requirement workers’ rights groups claim is not being met.
The Indian Express report further mentioned that when inquired about the allegations, Amazon India spokesperson said: “We’re investigating these claims, but to be clear, we’d never make these kinds of requests on our employees as part of standard business practice. If we discovered an incident such as the one that’s been alleged, we’d immediately put a stop to it and ensure the manager involved was re-trained on our expectations of team support, health, and safety. We’ll continue to investigate.”
On allegations of unhealthy work environments, the spokesperson claimed that employee safety and well-being are their top priorities. “We have heat index monitoring devices in all our buildings and keep a close eye on temperature changes, especially in summer. If the heat or humidity rises, we take steps to ensure comfortable working conditions, including sometimes stopping work temporarily. Our buildings have cooling systems like ventilation, fans, and spot coolers. We provide plenty of water and hydration, regular rest breaks in cooler areas, and extra breaks when it’s hot. Employees can take informal breaks anytime during their shifts to use the restroom, get water, or talk to a manager or HR.”
Notably, while minimum wage in Delhi for workers in such factories and warehouses is Rs 21000 to 23,000, in Haryana, these workers are paid Rs 11,000 to Rs 13,000 only.
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An oath: No toilet, water breaks for Amazon warehouse workers till targets are met
