'A Race Against Time': Inside Amazon Warehouse, Workers Are Always on the Move

(*Names changed to protect identity)The recent 'Make Amazon Pay' protests demanding better wages, improved working conditions, and union recognition, have seen workers, unions, and activists, spans at least 20 countries. India is one of them.The strike is timed around the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales when the surge in online orders – and the extra workload on warehouse workers – are a given.But why do these workers find it difficult to manage the workload and meet their 'targets' even on a daily basis?"From the time you punch in till the time you punch out, it's a race against time," says 25-year-old Rahul*, who works at one of Amazon India's warehouses in Haryana's Manesar. Rahul and his 22-year-old wife Dipika* work 10-hour shifts five times a week. Apart from two 30-minute breaks each day, they scurry across the facility non-stop."You need to run from one place to another to meet your targets. If you don't, you get pulled up. We walk at least 20-25 km a day within the warehouse."RahulRahul works as a picker whose main job is to scan and fetch products. The target set for him by Amazon is two items per minute. A handheld scanner gun tells him what needs to be picked, and which exact aisle and shelf it will be found in. Once he fetches an item, he is immediately alerted of the next item. Meanwhile, the fetched item is sent to the packaging team, loaded into trucks, and shipped off to Amazon costumers.Dipika, on the other hand, works in the inbound team which organises products in different parts of the warehouse. Her target is to store 150 items in an hour.Many Amazon workers, like Dipika and Rahul, have been highlighting the high level of stress and pressure as well as the poor working conditions for years.A survey, conducted by UNI Global Union in partnership with the Amazon India Workers Association a few months ago, found that four out of five workers report that these 'targets' set for them by Amazon are 'very difficult' to achieve.In addition, as per the survey,86.3 percent workers alleged that they are not being allowed enough time to take restroom breaks.Of the total 1,838 participants, 21.3 percent of the workers and delivery executives said that they faced ‘unsafe’ working conditions.One in five delivery executives reported being injured on the job.However, calling the survey's data "questionable" and "deliberately designed to deliver on a specific narrative," an Amazon spokesperson told The Quint that the claims were "factually incorrect, unsubstantiated, and contradict what our own employees tell us directly.""By contrast, in our most recent internal survey at our Manesar fulfilment centre – conducted randomly and anonymously – 87 percent of our workforce said they were satisfied with their jobs, with as many as eight out of 10 recommending Amazon as a great place to work."Amazon spokesperson In India, Amazon has close to 50 fulfilment centres (or warehouses) spread across 15 states, out of which at least four are in the Delhi-NCR region. The DEL 4 fulfilment centre in Manesar, where Rahul and Dipika work, has nearly 2,000 workers who alternate every week between a dayshift (8:30 am to 6:30 pm) and a nightshift (6:30 pm to 4:30 am). In each centre, there are different teams under which workers operate —the inbound team stores items, and the outbound team takes care of articles to be shipped.Pawan*, 24, is part of the inbound team like Dipika. His job is to load and unload parcels ordered by customers into 32-feet-long trucks. Originally from Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad, Pawan first began working as a full-time worker at the centre in 2020. But he switched to a part-time role as he found it difficult to cope with the demands of his job."It is physically exhausting to stand and unload such heavy boxes for 10 hours a day. I collapse as soon as I return home. Standing for so long takes a toll on your body. My neck and legs become sore, but then Amazon demands 100 percent efficiency at all times," he told The Quint.Pawan earns around Rs 600 for each dayshift and Rs 700 for every nightshift. On an average, he, along with four others, unload six trucks a day, with the number of trucks likely going up during the sale season.Each of the workers' jobs is even more gruelling because of the pressure they are under to meet the targets. Explaining the process, Dipika said the handheld scanners are fitted with a time function that allows managers to track precisely how long it took workers to complete an order as well any 'idle time' when they were supposedly 'not active working'."We can't always work under the stipulated time period. Sometimes an item is stored at the end of the warehouse, or the cart is not working properly. Sometimes, I have to climb up and down the stairs to store the items. Sometimes, the lift will be stuck on another floor. All these are considered idle time."DipikaRahul adds, "You build idle time for basic things like spending ‘too long’ in the toilet, switching floors, even going to refill your water bottle. We don't even talk to anyone during work; we usually speak when we are on the run."Anyone who fails to meet the targets set for them could be called into the supervisor's office and given warnings. You could also be sacked, the couple alleged.In response to this, Amazon told The Quint:"Like most companies, we have performance expectations for every employee and associate, and we measure actual performance against those expectations. When setting those targets, we take into account time in role, experience, and the safety and well-being of our employees. We support people who are not performing to the levels expected with dedicated coaching to help them improve. We are confident that our targets are comfortably achievable by the trained associates, and we have sufficient headroom in capacity."The Amazon spokesperson told The Quint that there is "sufficient" supply of cold water, and "regularly scheduled rest breaks in a cooler environment" for workers. However, at least four workers claimed that the breaks were not timed properly. "It takes 10 minutes to reach the canteen because the warehouse is so big. We then have to scan our IDs and then by the time we finish all this, we are only left with 10 minutes to have our meals," alleged Pawan."When you think about it, we are treated so poorly. Are we machines where we can eat and use restrooms only at a particular time. What if I want to rest a little later? Why are we treated this way? Is it because we are labourers?" he asked.Apart from the working conditions, according to Amazon, workers are entitled to annual, sick, and casual leaves, as per state rules, for "unplanned situations such as sickness or family emergencies." However, workers claimed to The Quint that that was only on paper, and that in reality, they are forced to inform regarding emergency leaves "five days" in advance. "Working here is making us tired, fatigued, and sore. Of course we fall sick, and sometimes we will need to avail sick leaves. But when we take offs, our HR will ask us why we didn't inform them five days in advance. How will I know five days prior that I will fall sick today? In many companies, we can take one-hour off from work or half-days for emergencies, but we are not allowed to do that here."Dipika claimed to The QuintAmazon, meanwhile, told The Quint that all fulfilment centres had dedicated facilities for first-aid care. "Anyone with symptoms of sickness has access to resting space/bed as well as assistance from a qualified nurse." However, the workers claimed that if they fell sick, their managers would give them electrolytes and a Dolo-650 tablet and would be asked to resume work within 10 minutes."Sometimes I wonder if something happens to me, they won't let me go out until I finish my 10-hour shift," said Dipika.When Rahul was unwell in January 2024, he had to take 10 days off. "Because of the physical exertion of this job, I fell sick. When I had to take off, they didn't allow me to. Hence, I resigned. I joined back in May. But in the past year, I have lost 10 kgs. The job is taking a toll on our physical health," he said.Agreeing to this, Mansi*, a 25-year-old part-time worker in the inbound department, claimed that in case they take last-minute leaves, their attendance bonus gets cut.The salary for the warehouse workers is fixed at Rs 10,088. They also receive an attendance bonus of Rs 3,250 and incentives based on meeting their targets. The company spokesperson told The Quint that the wage structure is regularly reviewed against industry benchmarks, "ensuring adherence to all applicable wage laws across the states where we operate.""Our HR or seniors don't scold us if we take leave. They just won't accept it on the portal when we apply and will deduct our attendance bonus of Rs 3,250. I am studying social work on the side, and I never got leave to prepare and write my exams. Is this fair?" she asked.It is for this reason why, Pawan, too, switched from being a full-time worker to a part-time worker. "I was refused to go see my 60-year-old mother who had an eye surgery. So, I decided to quit. Once I returned, I joined part-time," he alleged.In June, The Quint reported about the working conditions at the Manesar centre, when employees were allegedly made to pledge against taking bathroom and water breaks until their targets were met. In response, Amazon said that a detailed investigation was carried out and it was "found to be an isolate incident of poor judgement by an individual that was totally unacceptable and against our policies, and (we) took disciplinary action."However, all four workers The Quint spoke to said that while things had gotten better since then, they fear that in a few months "things will go back to how they were.""The issue of unrealistic targets have not been resolved. Earlier, managers used to directly ask us about our ratings. But now they have been pressuring their PAs to instruct us to meet our targets. They make it seem like we don't want to meet our targets, but in reality, they should understand our difficulties and try to address that."Mansi to The QuintMeanwhile, Rahul alleged that workers also face constant fear of being “blacklisted” – and not having a job. "There is no one to listen to our problems, and we are scared even if we do raise it, our IDs will be blocked. But we cannot afford that," he said. For Rahul and Dipika, after the major expenses like rent, utility bills, groceries, and EMIs, there is little to no money left at the end of the month. "We've been married for a year, but I have not been able to buy her any gift till now. But we have no choice. We need to fill our stomachs," said Rahul."It is us workers who help big companies like Amazon make profit. Everyone places an order for a product on Amazon and then waits for it arrive. But has anyone thought what we have to go through to ensure your delivery? Do you know the sacrifices we make? We deserve some respect for the work we do," Dipika said as she gestured the reporter to conclude as she was getting late for work.(Amazon refused to share the number of orders the Manesar facility processes in a day. This story was originally published on 22 July. It has been updated to reflect the recent worldwide protests.)

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'A Race Against Time': Inside Amazon Warehouse, Workers Are Always on the Move

"In a minute, I need to pick up two items. In an hour, I need to store 150 items in my cart," said an Amazon worker.

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Topics: Amazon India Manesar Workers Rights