Is Amazon spying on its workers?
This is what the international union federation Uni Global Union denounced in a press release published on Tuesday, November 24.
Since September 30, she has been calling for a European investigation into the “
potentially illegal activities
” of the e-commerce giant with regard to its employees.
To read also: "It prevents me from doing 120 km": these French people who refuse to boycott Amazon
These accusations follow the publication of an investigation by the American media Vice and relayed by the magazine Capital.
According to the article, Amazon is using the private agency Pinkerton to investigate its European sites, particularly in Poland.
"
Not content with abusing its dominant position
" - an investigation for anti-competitive practice opened by the European Commission is underway - "
Amazon exports practices worthy of the American anti-union struggle of the 19th century
", reacted Christy Hoffman, Secretary General of the UNI Global Union.
According to
Vice
, internal Amazon document leaks show Amazon '
obsessive surveillance
' of unions and social and environmental movements, "
particularly between Black Friday and Christmas
”.
Vice
has been publishing since September 1 revelations on the surveillance that Amazon would exercise on its employees, its warehouses, unions or movements such as “
yellow vests
” in France.
Following the first publications, 37 European trade union leaders, including in France Laurent Berger for the CFDT and Christine Besseyre for the FO, signed a letter on September 30 asking the European Commission to open an investigation into the
“potentially illegal”
actions.
from the global e-commerce giant.
Private investigators and fake social media profiles
Vice had also reported the recruitment of two intelligence analyst posts to brief management on "
sensitive and highly confidential
"
subjects
, including union activity, as well as hate groups, political activities or terrorism.
The announcement has since been withdrawn and classified as an error by the group.
Another element of the investigation, Amazon would have used the services of private investigators of the Pinkerton agency to spy on employees.
Thanks to this system, Amazon would therefore benefit from very precise information on the union activities of its employees, in particular on their actions.
In addition, V
ice
, which quotes an anonymous source, explains that Amazon would use social networks to follow the demonstrations and other activities of the unions, thanks to fake accounts without photos.
“They were using a false name and a profile without a photo.
The worst part was that they read tons of conversations and messages, and knew all about the privacy of these people.
They knew if they were having a bad day with their family, ”said
this source.
To read also: Jacques-Olivier Martin: "After the traders, Amazon will provoke the anger of the pharmacists"
Asked by AFP, Amazon France says it guarantees "
a certain level of security for (its) activities in order to protect (its) employees, (its) buildings and (its) stocks
".
"
This implies the establishment of an internal investigation team which works, if necessary, with the police
"
,
an operation "in
accordance with the law
", assures the company.
"
We have a team of analysts who help us prepare and anticipate external events
"
,
she added, citing "
events that could disrupt traffic or affect the safety of our buildings and people who work
”.
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