Amazon staff doing compulsory overtime as coronavirus drives demand

Workers at Amazon's UK warehouses have been told to work overtime to tackle huge demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.

This despite government calls for people to restrict social contact. According to the GMB union, workers across at least four different sites now have to work compulsory overtime. National officer Mick Rix accused Amazon of putting "profit before safety".

Compulsory overtime means that some employees must work additional hours as requested by an employer - if their contract says so.

An Amazon spokesperson said: "As demand continues to increase, we are working to ensure we can continue to deliver to the most impacted customers while keeping our people safe. Many of these customers have no other way to get essential items and we want to be sure that we have the right resources in place to deliver on their needs.”

"Starting this week, we'll be prioritising the intake and dispatch of items most needed by our customers right now. These are items such as food, health and personal care products, items needed to work from home, books and toys for children."

The spokesperson added that there is an exemptions process in place for employees who cannot work additional hours for personal reasons.

Stateside

Employees at fulfilment centres in the US are also working overtime. “Everybody job getting shut down, except Amazon. We’re on overtime,” one staff member said on Twitter.

Earlier this week, Amazon said it would hire an additional 100,000 employees in the US as millions of people turn to online deliveries during the coronavirus outbreak.