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Germany wants Amazon working conditions probe
Published: 17 Feb 13 13:48 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20130217-48019.html
German Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen called Sunday for a thorough probe into allegations that foreign seasonal workers hired in Germany by US online retail giant Amazon were harassed and intimidated.
- Amazon accused of abusing Christmas staff - Business & Money (15 Feb 13)
"There is a strong suspicion here which is why we need to lay all the facts on the table," she said. "If the investigation shows there is something to the accusations against the temporary placement agency then its licence is at risk."
A public television documentary broadcast Wednesday said workers brought in from crisis-hit countries such as Spain to help at Amazon warehouses faced bullying from security personnel, some of whom wore clothing associated with neo-Nazi groups.
It added that Amazon paid the workers less than advertised and that their belongings were regularly searched in the temporary housing they were provided.
Services union Verdi has long accused Amazon of paying its seasonal workers unfair wages and going overboard on surveillance.
The US company, which has about 7,700 people on staff in Germany and hires additional temporary workers at peak times, said it was looking into the allegations and would not tolerate intimidation at its sites.
Hensel European Security Services, the company targeted in the documentary, also denied any wrongdoing.
"The accusation that our company harbours far-right views or supports them is false," it said in a statement.
It confirmed that its staff had searched temporary workers' rooms but said this had taken place with the agreement of the hotel and in order to investigate reported theft.
AFP/mry
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
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Your comments about this article:
The unions in Germany are culpable as they allowed this situation to develop and are now getting worried as it spreads through the workforce like a cancer.
If Ursula von der Leyen wants to do a little she could press for a minimum wage in Germany as it will be one of the last countries in Europe to have one if it ever comes.
As for Amazon, they have three problems. This security agency with the black uniforms and attitude problems are going to be hard to explain in any public forum. My humble guess is that black uniforms are gone within a month, with everyone wearing white or blue (a cosmetic fix, at best).
The second problem is pay and deductions from the temp guys from Spain, which I would suspect that a government guy will find every single German rule obeyed, and shocked over how little the typical guy got at the end.
Finally, the third problem is this issue with the need for temp workers. Everyone has used to some small degree, but Amazon is the big kid on the block that absolutely needs a huge number, on site, by September of each year. They know how to get them in the US, and I think they've just discovered that finding temp workers in Europe is going to almost impossible.
If I were Amazon, I'd hire a PR firm, ensure the security guy's uniforms are changed, and start working on a drastic solution to the temp requirement coming up in less than seven months. You can't repeat your 2012 solution.
1. major number of employees are from east Europe, nothing to do with latest crisis which is impacting Germany as well
2. It is not amazon to blame,this is Germany to blame. Working conditions in Germany have drastically deteriorated to support productivity. So amazon is only an escape goat, and of course German press has not selected a German company, which they could have easily found.
Same old nationalistic Germany
One only has to look at the pay and conditions of employees working for DeutschePost, DHL, and most other service jobs in German companies. Amazon.de in this case will be under German management who are implementing German management best practice sharing with their other German top management buddies.
Germany needs lawyers who will work on a no win no fee basis because those at the bottom have no recourse against exploitation.
So if any lawyers are reading this, look at market thats waiting to be filled.
Under what legislation does a private security firm have the right to search through the personal belongings of employees in their hotel rooms? Why would a hotel believe they can give permission for third party to search the personal belongings of their guests, with neither police nor search warrants involved? Perhaps the management of the security firm and hotels involved believe that these untermensch have no rights as European citizens.
That is how gast-arbeiters are looked upon in Germany. It is a dirty Human Resource world in Germany.