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Staff at Amazon’s UK operation which involves a major distribution warehouse just outside Swansea have developed physical and mental illnesses because of the “regimes” they work under, the GMB trade union has claimed.

Elly Baker, the GMB’s lead officer for Amazon made the claims after a damning New York Times article about Amazon in the US which described its distribution centres, known to the company as fulfillment centres, as “soulless and dystopian”.

'Doesn't describe the Amazon I know'

The article was later dismissed by Amazon Chief Executive and founder Jeff Bezos who said: “The article doesn’t describe the Amazon I know or the caring Amazonians I work with every day.”

But he asked employees to come forward with their stories and he has faced stinging criticism from former staff members and their families.

Speaking in the UK this week, the GMB union's Elly Baker said “There’s a very strong target-driven culture and those targets are set, we believe, above what is reasonable for people to be able to deliver day-in, day-out.

“We’re finding that people have work-related stress initially, and then as the pressure mounts they can get anxiety and depression related to that.

“Employees are having muscular problems and joint problems because of the volumes of work and pressure on them to deliver.”

UK distribution centres include Swansea

Speaking of Amazon’s failure to have unions at its centres (the company has worker forums), she said: “They don’t want people to know what’s going on.

"We want them just to be open, to work with their staff, to let trade unions into the workplace so we can speak to the staff and represent them.”

Amazon, which employs more than 7,000 staff work at Amazon’s giant UK distribution centres in Swansea, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Rugeley near Stafford, Doncaster, Dunfermline and Gourock in Inverclyde, did not wish to comment on the criticism.

But a spokesman highlighted the company website which gave information about staff benefits, private medical insurance, worker forums, willingness to open up the distribution centres to public tours and worker health.

'Escalate issues to HR'

Amazon’s website says from April 2013 to March 2014 it had a 40% lower RIDDOR rate (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations as defined by the UK Health and Safety Executive) than other companies reporting in the same industry code, “Warehousing and Support Activities for Transport”.

Jeff Bezos has asked staff if they have any issues to “escalate to HR”.