Amazon employees are under close surveillance. Credit:Getty Images National Union of Workers national secretary Tim Kennedy said his union would seek to organise Amazon's workforce once it opened its distribution centres. "It's reputation is ruthless, running classic 19th century-style satanic mills," he said. "We want to organise them; we will really focus on this as a big opportunity." International Trade Union Confederation general secretary Sharan Burrow told Fairfax Media that Amazon had treated workers harshly even in countries with the highest labour standards. "Frankly even in places like Germany (with high standards) ... the treatment of workers is more like robots than human beings."

Workers prepare books for shipment in a US-based Amazon warehouse Credit:The New York Times Ms Burrow questioned if Amazon had a "social licence" to operate and was doing enough to respect workers' rights, safety and paying enough tax. She said "work is so controlled, so automised" at Amazon, it was a forerunner to far greater automation. "They're using them (workers) to set up a robot future." NUW national secretary Tim Kennedy wants to organise Amazon warehouses. Credit:Justin McManus Investigative reporting from the US and Europe in recent years has uncovered harsh conditions in Amazon warehouses. That includes workers being penalised for taking off time sick, intensive theft screening and even being disciplined if they spend too long on the toilet.

Workers are also under close surveillance to check their movements for efficiency, under pressure to hit targets and can walk more than 20 km a shift. A robot fills orders inside an Amazon fulfilment centre in the US. Credit:Bloomberg In one infamous case, there were so many calls for ambulances from workers overheating at a US site that an ambulance was stationed outside on hot days. Amazon has stated that the "safety and well-being of our associates is our number one priority". It has actively resisted attempts to unionise, which it describes as "third-party representation". The company has already advertised in Australia for a senior industrial relations lawyer who will advise on strategies in dealing with unions and local laws.

In the US, Amazon is a behemoth selling everything from groceries to clothing, to wine to furniture and electronics. This week Amazon confirmed it would dramatically expand what it will sell to Australians, well beyond its current staple of books and entertainment. The NUW's Mr Kennedy said large distribution centres in Australia tended to employ 600 to 1500 people. He expected Amazon to start with a similar size. "We don't think they will go full automation, we expect lots of contingent workers to be engaged," he said. "Amazon will take losses, but look greedily at high supermarket margins here and want to take them over time." Senior property sources said location options for Amazon warehouses were being considered in Melbourne and Sydney, a view shared by Shaw and Partners real estate analyst Peter Zuk who speculated that Amazon would initially build two large-format centres of around 100,000 square metres each in Sydney and Melbourne. One senior property source said it was possible two sites would be chosen in Melbourne. Amazon is believed to be eyeing both the south eastern and western industrial precincts, in particular Laverton and Derrimut in the far west near major road networks.

Amazon did not respond to questions. In a statement released this week, it confirmed its next step would be to bring a "retail offering" in Australia which they expected to generate "thousands of new jobs" and significant investment. Loading Do you know more? Contact us securely via Journotips Follow Ben Schneiders on Facebook