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Amazon Drivers Forced To Poo In Bags And Work Illegal Shifts In An Effort To Meet Strict Delivery Demands

By Essel Pratt
Published on: 03:36 PST, Nov 13, 2016

According to a new investigative report, delivery drivers that handle Amazon packages in the U.K. are overworked and underpaid. As a result, the delivery drivers are forced to poo in their trucks, using bags and boxes to store their feces until their shift is over. Bottles are often used to store urine, as well. Also, the drivers often speed well over the posted limit as they exceed the legally allowed times to drive, to meet the strict delivery demands put forth by Amazon.

The findings revealed that many of the drivers were making less than minimum wage after the long hours, that they were not paid additional for. Additionally, drivers that choose to hire help and gain additional insurance were not paid extra for their services, according to Metro.

The revelation of the horrible working conditions was revealed when a reporter from the Corporation was hired at AHC Services, a European firm that delivers for Amazon, according to the Daily Mail. The unnamed investigator worked at Amazon’s depot in Avonmouth, Bristol for two weeks, where he interacted with drivers on a daily basis.

Due to the strict demand set forth by Amazon, to deliver at least 200 packages per day, many of the hired delivery drivers are forced to skip breaks, work more than the legally allowed 11 hours, and exceed speed limits at dangerous paces, to meet their quota. As a result, many of the drivers opt to forgo bathroom breaks and urinate in bottles and defecate in bags, allowing just a little more time to deliver the packages.

A former supervisor with AHC, Cody Cooper, revealed that she had to force one employee to pull over after he fell asleep at the wheel.

“It was coming up to school time and there could [have been] a group of schoolchildren walking along… and he could have steered off,”

According to AHC, the claims of defecating in bags, exceeding speed limits, and working unpaid overtime, were isolated and were not the norm within the company. They claim that they have made changes to ensure the impact did not stretch further.

“Since then we have made changes to the way our checks are carried out and taken a number of steps to improve our ways of working,”

However, many of the employees claim differently.

The pressure from Amazon and AHC does not require the delivery drivers to put forth the extra effort that was discovered during the investigation, but the pressure to meet the demands has coerced many of the drivers to continue to do what it takes to meet their goals.

Luckily, no one has been injured or killed as the drivers speed through the streets and skip bathroom breaks.

Amazon became aware of the situation after the investigation occurred and released a statement, claiming they are taking the matter seriously and are working toward improvement.

“We take this matter seriously and strive for continuous improvement, understanding that our progress depends on good execution and judgment of our employees and our delivery providers.”

Amazon was unaware of the conditions that their European drivers were forced to work under and reached out to their suppliers during an investigation.

“Our delivery providers must abide by Amazon’s Supplier Code of Conduct and our more detailed Amazon Logistics contract. We investigate any allegation that a delivery provider is not meeting our expectations.”

The reported issue was only occurring in the United Kingdom, not the United States. However, with the busy holiday season coming up, it is expected many drivers will take shortcuts to lessen the time spent on the road during their stressful workdays.

https://www.playbuzz.com/inquisitr/delivery-drivers

[Featured Image by Jeramey Lende/Shutterstock]

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