If Amazon really wanted to help our public services, they’d pay taxes properly and treat their workforce better says GMB Union
GMB, Britain’s general union, has branded Amazon’s £600million public sector deal ‘a joke’
The internet giant has secured a contract to sell everything from paper clips to bandages to Yorkshire’s schools, social care providers and emergency services.
Amazon signed the five-year deal with Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO), a procurement body owned by local authorities which helps to drive the cost of goods down by agreeing mass deals with suppliers.
Neil Derrick, GMB Regional Secretary, said:“Amazon has a record of exploitation so terrible, literally hundreds of ambulances are called out to their warehouses as workers suffer from appalling conditions at work.
“The idea a company like that can provide services for emergency services is a joke.
“If they really wanted to help our public services, they’d pay taxes properly and treat their workforce better.
“Instead, they’re trying to make a few million quid from our cash-strapped councils.
“It’s a crying shame the Conservative’s obsessive austerity drive has left local authorities in this position – having to drive public procurement through an anti-public service ethos company such as Amazon.”