Amazon public service contract “a joke”

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.”