Nearly one in five Amazon delivery drivers injured in 2021
Amazon’s delivery operations are facing an “escalating injury crisis,” in large part due to penalty quotas and pressure to ship packages as quickly as possible, according to a new study. , according to a new study.
Nearly a fifth of Amazon delivery drivers will be injured in 2021, a 40 percent increase from the previous year’s injury rate, the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) said in a report released today. 5.
Originally an alliance of labor unions including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Service Services International Union, they analyzed data submitted by Amazon and its delivery partners to the Health and Safety Administration. US Occupational Health in 2021.
Amazon relies on a rapidly growing network of contract delivery companies to deliver packages to customers’ homes, but they often sacrifice safety for speed. Photo: @AFP.
Amazon increasingly relies on a rapidly growing network of third-party delivery companies to ship packages from its warehouse, and return them to customers’ doorsteps. Third-party delivery companies are part of Amazon’s delivery service partner program, which was launched in 2018. In just a few years, the program has grown dramatically.
But as the program expanded, Amazon faced some scrutiny from labor advocates and lawmakers, who argued the company failed to keep drivers safe in the race. provide faster and faster delivery service. Delivery drivers also complain that the company requires them to meet strict delivery quotas, which increases the risk of injury on the job.
The SOC report found that Amazon contract delivery drivers were injured at nearly one-and-a-half times the rate of those not in the Amazon delivery industry. The report also indicates that by 2021, 1 in 7 Amazon drivers will have an injury so severe that they cannot perform their normal job, or will be forced to take time off work altogether.
According to the report, Amazon’s “unmanageable high quota” for delivery drivers is a major catalyst behind the high injury rate. Amazon delivery drivers are often injured by trips, slips and falls, muscle strains, dog bites, vehicle accidents and hitting an object, such as a fence post, citing data from Pinnacol Assurance , a workers’ compensation insurer in Colorado analyzed workforce health claims in Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners (DSPs).
In January 2022, Amazon revealed it had spent $300 million on improving worker safety by 2021. It said employee leave rates due to workplace injuries had dropped by 43% in 2020 compared to the previous year.
Earlier this year, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in his first letter to shareholders since taking the helm last July that Amazon’s injury rate is “slightly lower than it is” the average of the courier companies”. But the SOC researchers say the claim is “misleading on many levels,” as Andy Jassy uses outdated data and has excluded delivery drivers from Amazon’s DSP network.
Amazon has already established policies and measures to improve the safety of its delivery drivers, such as an app called “Mentor”. Drivers were asked to continuously run the app while they were at work, and it generated a daily score of their driving performance. But the in-app drivers are reported to produce a lot of errors, leading to lower scores.
Amazon’s injury rate still faces close scrutiny, spurred by critics and regulators who say Amazon’s required pace of work contributes to its increased injury rates. defects, a pace shaped by the carrier’s commitment to fast shipping. Photo: @AFP.
Last February, Amazon has also begun installing AI-powered cameras in delivery trucks to increase safety. According to the SOC, these systems increase the pressure drivers feel to work at faster speeds to meet their delivery quotas.
The real issue is that Amazon’s sky-high production quotas and production pressures leave Amazon workers working too quickly and drivers at risk of injury when they rush to hit their delivery targets, the report said. goods”, according to the report.
In response, Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel denied the study’s findings. “This report selects data from less than 10% of our delivery partners to tell an inaccurate and misleading story, using a small sample of data to misrepresent the risk of injury. “, said Nantel.
“Safety is a top priority across our network, which is why we’ve implemented technology such as innovative camera systems that have reduced overall accident rates by almost 50%, and we will continue to invest in new safety tools to try and get better every day.”
Even in a letter to shareholders in April, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that the company’s employee injury rate “is sometimes misunderstood”.
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