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Amazon whistleblower says busy shifts 'force' drivers to urinate in bottles

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TrueBlueTerrier
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Amazon whistleblower says busy shifts 'force' drivers to urinate in bottles

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https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/uk-wor ... s-22750667

One Amazon driver has spoken up about some of the biggest frustrations of their job, from long hours on the road, to being forced to urinate into plastic bottles.

This is largely due to the fact that employees are given routes that take should roughly nine hours to complete, and they are given an extra hour on top of this each day in which to take breaks - but often, routes take more than nine hours.

The driver told Plymouth Live that as a result, drivers often skip their breaks so they don't fall behind, saying if they do not "make a delivery every two to three minutes", they fall behind schedule:

"This job has a massive strain on my mental health, because of this job and various incidents that have happened at it, I suffer heavily from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and exhaustion, every day is a struggle, and it's just getting harder and harder."

The frustrated driver also spoke about 'incentives' which had been brought in previously, now potentially set to be taken away.

Plymouth Live understands that these incentives were brought in as a temporary measure - and it is not clear if those incentives will continue.

If the incentives are removed, this could leave the driver with up to £6,000 less throughout the year, the driver said - something which causes them a great deal of worry with regards to paying their bills.

Explaining what their day-to-day looks like, the miffed driver said: "We arrive to work up to 30 minutes early to conduct vehicle safety checks. We then head to the station to load up our parcels.

"Once everyone is loaded we leave the station and head for our first delivery. The moment we leave the station, we have an absolute maximum of 10 hours to complete between 140 and 200 stops, this time must by law include a 30-minute break but routes don't factor that time in so we often don't take a break, there is no time allotted for bathroom breaks, if we are incredibly lucky, we may have a public restroom somewhere along our route, this is rare.

"Most of the time we have to urinate into plastic bottles, it's pretty common for women to carry a "she-wee" so they can do the same.

"Every delivery has to be done to perfection, if it isn't, customers complain, they get a refund, and the entire team loses bonus that week.

"The system is extremely open to abuse and because of this, most Delivery Service Partners (DSP) haven't received bonus in months, the bonus is £25 a day per driver."

An Amazon spokesperson said the company is 'committed' to ensuring that the people contracted by its independent delivery providers are fairly compensated and are treated with respect.

The company also explained that drivers also have a number of ways to share comments or concerns, including escalating any challenges to Amazon through a 24/7 hotline, which 'works quickly' to investigate any concerns.

The disgruntled driver went on to explain the frustrations that come with being on the road all day - including other road users 'threatening' them.

The driver said: "Customers order items every day, knowing they won't be home, knowing there is nowhere safe to leave the parcel and knowing that their neighbours won't be home either.

"They could have their parcels delivered to a local hub locker or counter for no additional fee, but they don't, this is the main cause of us falling behind schedule.

"It works out that we have to make a delivery every 2-3 minutes or we fall behind schedule.

"We receive threats from other road users every day, sometimes we have to stop in the road as there is nowhere we can park to allow traffic to pass, and also, every day we are at risk of dog attacks."


Due to the fact that Amazon delivery drivers are technically self-employed and operate as independent contractors, they do not receive statutory sick pay or holiday pay, and do not have a pension through their employer like many people do.

The driver continued: "We receive no sick pay, no holiday pay and no pension, because we are self-employed we are not entitled to statutory sick pay."

Responding to the issues raised by the driver, an Amazon spokesperson said: "We are committed to ensuring that the people contracted by our independent delivery providers are fairly compensated and are treated with respect, and this is reflected by the positive feedback we receive from drivers every day.

"Drivers also have a number of ways to share comments or concerns, including escalating any challenges to Amazon through a 24/7 hotline, which works quickly to investigate any concerns."
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Re: Amazon whistleblower says busy shifts 'force' drivers to urinate in bottles

Post by POSTMAN »

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It's good to get these types of threads, the ridiculous my manager said bollox so we can reassure ourselves that while the world is falling apart, Royal Mail managers are still being the low-life C***S they have always been.
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The daily grind of having to argue your case with an intellectual pigmy of a line manager is physically and emotionally draining.
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