18th Dec, 2019 Read time 1 minute

Workplace injuries in Amazon warehouses double over the festive period

One in 10 Amazon warehouse workers in the US get strains, sprains and tears on the job each year, and this is 2.5 times higher over the festive period between Black Friday and Christmas.

 

The report looked at four years worth of data

Amazon warehouse employees are twice as likely to be hurt while working as the festive season kicks off, according to a report from community advocacy groups. These researchers say that part of the reason is because the Amazon warehouse workforce doubles in November and December.

The report, compiled by more than 40 groups, looked at four years of data which outlined the workplace injuries that occur per week at 28 Amazon facilities across 16 states in America. The data was sourced from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which sets and enforces safe workplace standards.

Researchers found that, in 2018, nearly 11 out of every 100 employees were hurt on the job, which is three times the injury rate of employees working in the private sector. These were injuries that meant employees had to miss an average of five and a half weeks work to recover from their injuries.

It was also found that 911 calls spike during the period between Black Friday and Christmas each year.

Between July 2017 and July 2019, at six facilities in the town of Hebron, Kentucky, anywhere from 11 to 13 emergency calls could be made in a week over the holiday period compared to the usual range of two to six per week.

The authors are now calling on the company to improve safety measurements, including reducing the speed of work required, sharing information on injury risks with employees and taking workers’ advice on how to have a safer work environment.

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