A group of shareholders Amazon asked the board of directors that the company appoint a independent committee that verifies the health and safety conditions at work of employees. The request provides that the investigation be carried out with the collaboration of Amazon employees and competent persons in the field of occupational safety.
The request submitted to the board quotes: “As Amazon strives to be the ‘safest place to work on Earth,’ a review is needed of the practices that have placed the company number one for injuries at work and the subject of criticism and demands from With monitoring practices and productivity quotas linked to high injury rates, we encourage Amazon to conduct independent verification of these practices.”
The submitted resolution will be voted on at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders scheduled for May, unless Amazon challenges the resolution. As The Verge statesthe request was filed by Mary Beth Gallagher, director of engagement at Impact investments in domainswho said Amazon needed to assess its business model, high turnover and injury rates, also pointing to safety issues, concerns raised about working conditions during the pandemic and the deaths of six people at a warehouse in the Illinois hit by tornado in December ten.
The interest of shareholders that it be investigated whether the way in which the measurement and monitoring of employee productivity contributes to a less secure and less stable working environment, with the hope that a thorough evaluation could induce changes in company policies that make workplaces safer to bring employees truly Amazon to deliver on its commitment to be the industry leader in health and safety.