Asian warehouse employees report that Amazon, recognized as the world’s second-largest employer, has failed to fulfill its commitment to compensate them for financial exploitation tied to the operations of Saudi online retailers.
In 2023, Amazon announced it would refund recruitment fees to Asian contract workers who were compelled to pay substantial amounts to secure jobs in the warehouses of Saudi companies. Since then, the company has disbursed over $2.6 million in compensation to approximately 950 workers from various nations.
However, two years later, numerous immigrants are still awaiting reimbursement of their recruitment fees, with uncertain prospects for financial relief. Of the 67 workers interviewed by the Guardian, 36 indicated they had yet to receive payments from Amazon, despite having paid significant fees to gain employment in the company’s Saudi Arabian operations.
“I want to tell Amazon: If you intend to repay your debt, do it now,” stated Rameshwar Sharma, a worker from Nepal, who reported not having received any compensation. “Don’t treat us like fools. We are not begging. We seek justice.”
In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan remarked that the company was “working swiftly and diligently to identify individuals entitled to reimbursement for employment costs incurred at third-party vendors that violated supply chain standards.”
She further noted that “we are aware that our work is not complete,” and that Amazon will “persist in issuing refunds as swiftly as possible.”
Labor rights advocates from Amnesty International, a human rights organization that scrutinized Amazon’s labor practices in Saudi Arabia, condemned the delays in processing worker payments as unacceptable.
“Too many individuals are still in limbo, and every delay prolongs their suffering,” commented Ella Knight from Amnesty International. “For one of the wealthiest companies globally, the sum involved is a mere drop in the ocean. However, for workers, timely justice can transform lives.”
Amazon, she insisted, “must act promptly to uphold its full human rights responsibilities.”
Some of the workers interviewed expressed concerns that the issue extends beyond mere delays. They reported being deemed ineligible for payments despite having paid substantial recruitment fees and having worked in Amazon’s Saudi Arabian operations.
Mithra Lal Sapkota, a Nepali worker, mentioned that he was informed he would not be refunded because his employment with Amazon ended in October 2023. Impactt staff, acting as Amazon’s intermediaries for compensation, left messages for Nepali workers stating that payments were only for those who ended their employment with Amazon in 2023 or later.
“Why are dates so crucial to them?” questioned Mithra Lal Sapkota. Impactt informed him that his job at Amazon ended in 2022, making him ineligible for a refund of his recruitment fees.
“What Amazon is doing feels disingenuous,” he remarked.
Amazon did not respond to inquiries regarding whether October 2023 was a cutoff date for payment eligibility, nor did they clarify the criteria for determining payment recipients.
Concerns about the treatment of vulnerable workers in Amazon’s Saudi warehouses gained significant attention following a survey released on October 10, 2023, by the Guardian, NBC News, and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists along with the Arab Reporter for Investigative Journalism. The reporting revealed that workers were charged recruitment fees ranging from approximately $830 to $2,300 to secure jobs in Amazon’s Saudi warehouses, violating Supply Chain Standards.
In response to media inquiries and an investigation by Amnesty International, Amazon committed to enhancing its labor practices and reimbursing recruitment fees for workers involved with its Saudi Arabian operations.
By February 2024, Amazon had compensated over 700 workers with approximately $1.9 million. Nevertheless, the pace of payments has since dwindled, with numerous workers claiming they remain excluded. Among the 44 current and former Amazon contract workers interviewed for the Guardian’s report in December 2024, 33 stated they had yet to receive any refund from the company. “These are intricate and prolonged processes, and we do our utmost to expedite refunds,” Amazon explained at the time.
Since the follow-up report, Amazon has distributed over $330,000 in compensation to roughly 100 workers.
The migrant workers involved in this story hail from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Kenya.
Bangladeshi worker MD Foisal Mia reported paying a recruitment company over $3,500 for a contract position in Amazon’s Saudi operations. He mentioned he has yet to receive any indication of compensation from Amazon or Impactt. He hopes that a refund for his recruitment fees would significantly impact his family’s circumstances.
“My family is in need. It’s challenging to manage a household,” stated Mia, who currently works at a vegetable store in Kuwait. “Please return my fee. This money means little to you, but it is everything to me.”
Nepali worker Sonu Kumar Mandal sought employment in the Amazon warehouse in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in 2021. To afford the costs, he secured a loan from a local moneylender with an exorbitant annual interest rate of 36%.
However, he was unable to meet his repayment obligations as his earnings were directed towards supporting his financially struggling family.
“I don’t have the funds to pay interest at present. I’m unemployed,” he lamented. “If Amazon were to refund the money, I would be able to settle the loan.”
Several workers denied compensation expressed that if Amazon genuinely wanted to reimburse them, they could have informed them about the refund process.
“Amazon has my phone number, my email, my passport, everything,” said Kishor Kumar Chaudhary, another Nepali worker. “If they wanted to reach me, they could easily do so. But why haven’t they?”
Pradip Kumar Mahato, a former Amazon employee from Nepal, filled out an online compensation form and sent a voice message to Impactt staff in July. In a reply, the staff conveyed: “[money] Very slim…we’re trying, but there’s no guarantee.”
Callahan, the Amazon spokesperson, expressed that the company is establishing a comprehensive complaint resolution mechanism for workers to voice their concerns. Amazon provides a web page where individuals, including former employees, can file complaints in various languages regarding the company’s employment and environmental practices.
Source: www.theguardian.com
