Amazon To Pay $1.9 Million in Settlement Due to Human Rights Abuse Claim

Over 700 migrant workers will receive around $1.9 million in settlement following claims that they were subjected to human rights abuse from exploitative labor contracts in Saudi Arabia, according to CNBC.

On Feb. 22 in a blog post, the online giant said it hired Verité, a third-party labor rights expert, last year to look into the conditions at two of its factories in Saudi Arabia. They found several practices that were in breach of Amazon’s supply chain criteria, according to the firm.

An Amnesty International report carried out last October as well as an investigation completed by Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and The Guardian highlighted with great detail how bad the conditions were for migrant workers at Amazon warehouses in Saudi Arabia.

According to the Amnesty report, numerous migrant laborers, many of whom were of Nepalese origin, were victims of unethical practices by third-party recruitment agencies, who falsely promised direct employment with Amazon. These workers were coerced into paying illegal fees to secure jobs. In the report, Amnesty wrote that while the contractors worked at Amazon warehouses, they were housed in accommodations that were “overcrowded and dirty, infested with bed bugs and lacking even the most basic facilities.” In certain cases, the agencies stopped workers from changing jobs or leaving the country unless they paid huge fines, which were beyond anything that they could afford without seeking loans in an attempt to free themselves.

In Amnesty’s report, they wrote that these cases identified were so incredibly drastic that they were essentially “human trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation as defined by international law and standards.”

Amazon stated that it became aware of the problem before the release of reports by Amnesty and other organizations. The company indicated that Verité conducted interviews with employees of one of its temporary labor vendors, Abdullah Fahad Al-Mutairi Co., revealing instances of workers paying recruitment fees, “substandard living accommodations, contract and wage irregularities, and delays in the resolution of worker complaints.”

In its blog post, Amazon said, “Our goal is for all of our vendors to have management systems in place that ensure safe and healthy working conditions; this includes responsible recruitment practices.”

In recent years, Amazon’s labor record has received heightened criticism from advocacy groups, politicians, and lawmakers for its treatment of contractors who work in their warehouses and on the delivery side for exposure to unsafe working conditions. The firm continues to face many federal investigations into its safety practices, and it has been fined by federal safety regulators for subjecting workers to ergonomic risks in its warehouses.

Amazon has denied the accusations made by regulators and has emphasized its ongoing commitment to investing in worker safety. In addition, the company has claimed to have made progress in bringing down injury rates, partly by implementing greater automation within its facilities.