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More on the ignominy of working in an Amazon warehouse.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... ers-rights

'A BBC investigation into a UK-based Amazon warehouse has found conditions that a stress expert said could cause "mental and physical illness". Professor Michael Marmot was shown secret filming of night shifts involving up to 11 miles of walking - where an undercover worker was expected to collect orders every 33 seconds. It comes as the company employs 15,000 extra staff to cater for Christmas.'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25034598

Panorama: The Truth Behind The Click, BBC One, Monday 25 November at 20:30 GMT

On a personal level, I just have to thank God I will never have to stoop so low as to work for Amazon again....

My wife has landed a good job at a Caribbean high commission, while I have now got my Masters and I'm doing much better tutoring students in A Level history. I'm also currently in the process of enrolling at a uni to do my PHD. Thanks to all the posters on this thread for their support....

mikesiva wrote:'A BBC investigation into a UK-based Amazon warehouse has found conditions that a stress expert said could cause "mental and physical illness". Professor Michael Marmot was shown secret filming of night shifts involving up to 11 miles of walking - where an undercover worker was expected to collect orders every 33 seconds. It comes as the company employs 15,000 extra staff to cater for Christmas.'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25034598

Panorama: The Truth Behind The Click, BBC One, Monday 25 November at 20:30 GMT

On a personal level, I just have to thank God I will never have to stoop so low as to work for Amazon again....

My wife has landed a good job at a Caribbean high commission, while I have now got my Masters and I'm doing much better tutoring students in A Level history. I'm also currently in the process of enrolling at a uni to do my PHD. Thanks to all the posters on this thread for their support....

Congratulations for escaping it Mike. I think sometimes people dont realise just how important having a job that is related to your skill set is to your mood and to your feelings of life satisfaction!! I would quite happily take a paycut to do something rewarding then something mindnumbing!

No doubt the experience has been a vastly negative one, but you can hold your head up proud and know that, when put in the situation, you supported your family by doing what you needed to! Top work and good luck in your new work!

Good to know that you broke clear Mike. And to hear that the BBC has done some of the kind of journalism that is badly needed from them, but that they appear to have been warned away from by the present Government. A vocal sector of the coalition has made clear that they consider workers have too much protection from law in the UK, and wages should be entirely set by the market. Conditions in Bangladesh have been used as a model appropriate for this country.

I think they are a fine upstanding company, and I would give them benefit scroungers to work for free. What's a bit of tax between chums?

Wow. What an eye-opening blog, Mike. I have just discovered it.

Quite shocking, and even though it shouldn't be surprising, it is surprising that it is happening so much in Britain. Unfortunately, I don't think this sort of thing will improve, but will increase. Well done on escaping.


It reminds me of the picture painted of "future's" society in the novel The Running Man. (not the film) Released by a Richard Bachman but written by Stephen King.




It also makes me realise just how lucky I am. Never hurts to be reminded of that.

GarlicJam wrote:Wow. What an eye-opening blog, Mike. I have just discovered it.

Quite shocking, and even though it shouldn't be surprising, it is surprising that it is happening so much in Britain. Unfortunately, I don't think this sort of thing will improve, but will increase. Well done on escaping.


It reminds me of the picture painted of "future's" society in the novel The Running Man. (not the film) Released by a Richard Bachman but written by Stephen King.




It also makes me realise just how lucky I am. Never hurts to be reminded of that.

I had somehow missed this too - but tbh my work have got a lot stricter now. I can't get on to this site from work - can't even get onto cricinfo now, yet I leave home at 7/7.30 am and don't get back home again till 8.30/9 pm (albeit that 2.5 hours of that is commuting). However, as GJ says - this blog does make you realise that it could be worse!

Glad to hear that things are much better now Mike - I wish I'd had contacts in your field.

About the JC though - my wife used to work in a JC and there are a lot of people who are genuine scroungers so they are in a tough position to try and work out the right approach. I think my wife was viewed as a soft touch by many because she always tried to help people out unless they were clearly just abusing the benefit system. As a result though, when we go shopping we always bump into people who she placed into roles who are very grateful

Just seen this blog. I watched the documentary the other day. Well done Mike for getting out of that horrible place.

There is a company like this in Portsmouth, I won't name them, that treat their workers just as appallingly. People are coerced into working overtime by veiled threats of losing their jobs, lower supervisory staff take no breaks for hours on end, which is against the law, but they know they will be demoted if they take their rightful breaks. As you can guess Management would deny any knowledge of this practice, if an accident occurred.

Has anyone seen that documentary by Michael Moore about Walmart where the workers in China live in vast dormitories inside the factories they work in?

We probably are not far off from debt bondage in this country too and as long as that piece of scum is running this country, it gets ever nearer.