:00:09. > :00:17.Tonight on Panorama we go behind the click to expose what happens when
:00:18. > :00:21.you buy from the world's biggest online retailer. The level of
:00:22. > :00:26.pressure on people is just incredible. I have never seen
:00:27. > :00:28.anything like it. Undercover at Amazon. The job that pushes workers
:00:29. > :00:36.to the limit. A job where every second counts. And
:00:37. > :00:56.workers racing a computerised clock. Even when the lights don't work. It
:00:57. > :01:03.is impossible to try and see in the dark. A workplace that could damage
:01:04. > :01:11.your health. The characteristics of this type of job increase the risks
:01:12. > :01:41.of mental and physical illness. The big Christmas shop is changing.
:01:42. > :01:48.There has been a revolution in the way we buy. Every year we do more
:01:49. > :01:53.and more shopping online. Shopping is now something that we can do on
:01:54. > :01:57.our own, on our laptops and in our homes. The physical side is done by
:01:58. > :02:02.other people. We don't see that anymore. And one company has led the
:02:03. > :02:09.way, the biggest online retailer on the planet. How much of your
:02:10. > :02:15.Christmas shopping will be done on Amazon? Lots. Probably about 40%. I
:02:16. > :02:20.like it because it is quick and easy to do. It is easy. Trustworthy. It
:02:21. > :02:26.is exciting having it come to your doorstep as well. Amazon used to
:02:27. > :02:30.sell only books but now you can buy virtually anything. Cheap and
:02:31. > :02:37.efficient, from click to your door. Who wouldn't want that? Amazon is an
:02:38. > :02:40.amazing company from our perspective because despite the fact it turned
:02:41. > :02:43.over $61 billion of revenue last year, it is still continuing to grow
:02:44. > :02:48.out of revenue last year, it is still continuing to grow at the
:02:49. > :02:52.nominal rate. There seems because it has a strong business model and a
:02:53. > :02:58.strong customer base. This is where your click becomes real. Most of
:02:59. > :03:02.what you choose on the site is stored in a series of warehouses. So
:03:03. > :03:06.when you buy on Amazon, it is just one click. But that click ends up
:03:07. > :03:11.here, at one of the enormous distribution centres. And inside,
:03:12. > :03:15.someone has to go and find the thing you have just bought. There are
:03:16. > :03:21.eight of these warehouses across the UK. They cover nearly 5 million
:03:22. > :03:26.square feet. At this time of year, Amazon employs around 20,000 people.
:03:27. > :03:33.But the unions have been complaining about the working conditions. The
:03:34. > :03:38.level of pressure on people is just incredible. I have never seen
:03:39. > :03:41.anything like it. Independently we spoke to more than 30 former
:03:42. > :03:46.workers. A few were positive but would not be filmed. Most were
:03:47. > :03:50.critical. This job does not compare to any other job that I have done,
:03:51. > :03:54.to be honest. It is the most depressing place I have ever been
:03:55. > :04:00.to. A disgusting place to work. Really quiet, eerie, like a funeral
:04:01. > :04:06.most of the time. Really dark. People in lines and lines. The only
:04:07. > :04:12.way I would go back to Amazon is if I had nothing left. Amazon says it
:04:13. > :04:16.is proud of providing a safe and positive workplace and that these
:04:17. > :04:21.descriptions don't reflect the views of the vast majority of its
:04:22. > :04:25.employees. We want to find out what it is like inside by going
:04:26. > :04:31.undercover. So we took advice. Chris used to work as a security guard for
:04:32. > :04:35.Amazon. He has asked us to hide his face and disguise his voice. He says
:04:36. > :04:40.getting a hidden camera inside will be hard. To prevent theft, there is
:04:41. > :04:57.CCTV, and workers have to regularly walk through their S -- walk-through
:04:58. > :05:01.airport style security. Good luck. I doubt that you will get out with any
:05:02. > :05:06.footage. I think it will be confiscated quite quickly. Good luck
:05:07. > :05:11.with that. This is the man who is going to try to check out Amazon.
:05:12. > :05:18.Adam Littler is a 23-year-old graduate. He keeps himself fit and
:05:19. > :05:23.he has done manual work before. When I have worked in these factories and
:05:24. > :05:27.warehouses doing these manual jobs, I have found that they are
:05:28. > :05:37.physically demanding, but it has never been any more than I expected.
:05:38. > :05:42.It has not been an issue. He has got a job at Amazon through an agency.
:05:43. > :05:49.We think we have found a way to smuggle our secret camera past
:05:50. > :05:55.security. We are in. This is the Swansea warehouse. 800,000 square
:05:56. > :06:03.feet of storage. His job is as a pickup. He collect is what we buy
:06:04. > :06:12.from the miles of shelving. And this bleak controls his working life. --
:06:13. > :06:15.this beep. The handset tells him what to collect and put on his
:06:16. > :06:30.trolley and gives him a set number of seconds to find each product.
:06:31. > :06:34.This green counts him down. -- the screen. For the first few months,
:06:35. > :06:41.you worked on the day shift and we gave him a wristband that measures
:06:42. > :06:46.his mileage. I have been measuring my walking using the wristband and I
:06:47. > :06:51.have walked just short of six miles today. Later Adam gets put on the
:06:52. > :06:58.night shift. This means his pay goes up from ?6.50 to ?8.25 per hour. It
:06:59. > :07:04.is four shifts a week, each ten and a half hours long with one hour's
:07:05. > :07:16.break. The trolley is heavy and he is really feeling the strain. Items
:07:17. > :07:21.are stored on four floors. The cart travels in a lift. Adam have to take
:07:22. > :07:29.the stairs. And on the night shift, his mileage is increasing. Adam is
:07:30. > :07:37.finding it exhausting. I managed to walk, or hobbled, nearly 11 miles.
:07:38. > :07:44.Just short of 11 miles last night. I am absolutely shattered. My feet
:07:45. > :07:55.other thing that is bothering me the most, to be honest. Today was a bit
:07:56. > :08:02.of a struggle, really, because I have another blister or two on my
:08:03. > :08:05.feet. Amazon says that new recruits are warned that some jobs are
:08:06. > :08:08.physically demanding. They say that some workers seek these positions
:08:09. > :08:16.because they enjoy the active nature of the work. There are other issues
:08:17. > :08:21.inside. The lights are activated by motion sensors. They don't always
:08:22. > :08:34.work. It means that Adam is sometimes working in the dark.
:08:35. > :08:41.14 seconds to try and see in the dark. And even in the dark, his
:08:42. > :08:56.scanner is still counting down the seconds.
:08:57. > :09:02.It happens regularly but Amazon told us there are thousands of lights in
:09:03. > :09:08.their centres and occasionally faults developed, which they work
:09:09. > :09:13.quickly to fix. I met up with Adam after a shift. He says he is
:09:14. > :09:17.exhausted because the work is nonstop. People at home might think
:09:18. > :09:22.this is a good system. He has worked every minute of his shift. Obviously
:09:23. > :09:27.you expect to work hard and put the effort in. It is just the added
:09:28. > :09:33.pressure. There is a lot of walking involved. The cart gets very heavy.
:09:34. > :09:38.It is quite gruelling on the body, really. So Adam is finding the ten
:09:39. > :09:43.and a half hour night shifts hard. The experts we consulted said he
:09:44. > :09:48.should not even be doing them. If the work involves heavy physical or
:09:49. > :09:56.mental strain, that might work should not work more than eight
:09:57. > :10:02.hours in any 24 hour period. -- the night worker. We have to protect the
:10:03. > :10:06.interests of the employees. That could put Amazon in breach of the
:10:07. > :10:10.working time regulations, but Amazon told us this was lawful. They sought
:10:11. > :10:20.legal advice to make sure the shifts comply with all relevant legal
:10:21. > :10:27.requirements. Just down the road in Cardiff, Paul Came runs a very
:10:28. > :10:33.different kind of warehouse. He sells books wholesale, online and
:10:34. > :10:41.through his own shops. The staff here have a similar job to Adam. And
:10:42. > :10:45.Paul have to get the best from them. In a small business everybody pulls
:10:46. > :10:49.together. If they are falling behind because we are busy, they just shout
:10:50. > :10:55.for help. I would not work them into the ground. This business is
:10:56. > :10:59.struggling and that is partly due to the rise of Amazon. Looking at the
:11:00. > :11:04.new Alex Ferguson biography, I think it has been the fastest selling
:11:05. > :11:09.nonfiction hardback ever. He is now trying to sell his books on Amazon.
:11:10. > :11:14.Amazon allows other retailers to sell through their website, giving
:11:15. > :11:19.them greater exposure, but they have to pay 15% commission, and Paul says
:11:20. > :11:27.that he cannot match Amazon's prices. Amazon on the top selling at
:11:28. > :11:40.?12. And how far down are we? Quite away. 13, 14, 15, 16, at ?15.42. If
:11:41. > :11:45.you are ?3 more expensive than Amazon at the top of the list, how
:11:46. > :11:50.many will you sell? I might not sell any. Amazon has undoubtedly changed
:11:51. > :11:54.the industry. They have lowered prices and they are trusted by
:11:55. > :12:01.millions of shoppers. It is grim for you but isn't it good for consumers?
:12:02. > :12:10.They can get much cheaper books. A lot are probably thinking it is good
:12:11. > :12:15.because it has pushed the price down. The British taxpayer has
:12:16. > :12:22.helped Amazon build its business in the UK. The Scottish Government
:12:23. > :12:29.awarded Amazon a grant of ?6.8 million in return for the promise of
:12:30. > :12:33.1700 jobs. And the Welsh Government awarded Amazon a grant of ?8.8
:12:34. > :12:41.million towards the warehouse where Adam has been working. And that is
:12:42. > :12:46.not all. This road shows how much effort was made to get Amazon to
:12:47. > :12:50.come to South Wales. When Amazon were considering this site, they
:12:51. > :12:56.said they would need a road. And the Welsh Assembly Government said,
:12:57. > :13:01.fine, we will build you one. And ?4.9 million later, trucks are on
:13:02. > :13:07.the road which is called Ffordd Amazon in Welsh, which for the rest
:13:08. > :13:11.of us is Amazon Way. The Welsh Assembly says the investment was
:13:12. > :13:17.worthwhile because it will create 1200 jobs in Swansea. Amazon told us
:13:18. > :13:23.it has invested more than ?1 billion and created 5000 permanent jobs
:13:24. > :13:28.across the UK. Back in the warehouse, Adam is struggling. His
:13:29. > :13:34.target is to pick 110 items per hour, nearly two per minute. His
:13:35. > :13:48.scanner shows him how he is getting on.
:13:49. > :14:14.He is working hard but he rarely reaches his target.
:14:15. > :14:24.I've never done a job like this before.
:14:25. > :14:31.Every time Adam scans a wrong item, the handset lets him know. It
:14:32. > :14:43.happens regularly. The beeping is starting to get under his skin. Last
:14:44. > :14:46.night I had trouble falling asleep because the beeping sounds that the
:14:47. > :14:54.scanners make, erm, were, were just going, going off in my head. The
:14:55. > :14:56.scanner allows managers to see how fast Adam has been picking over the
:14:57. > :15:20.last few weeks. Adam's not the only worker who seems
:15:21. > :15:50.to be struggling to meet targets. Amazon says productivity targets are
:15:51. > :15:57.set objectively based on previous performance levels achieved by the
:15:58. > :15:59.workforce. Most people in the warehouse seem to have targets -
:16:00. > :16:24.like this shelf-stacker. For those ten hours, we are
:16:25. > :16:30.machines, we are robots, we plug our scanner to... We're holding it, but
:16:31. > :16:34.we might as well be plugging it into ourselves. We don't think for
:16:35. > :16:36.ourselves, maybe they don't trust us to think for ourselves as human
:16:37. > :16:45.beings, I don't know. Hitting targets matters - if you
:16:46. > :17:01.miss them you can face disciplinary action Scores - they're a bit down.
:17:02. > :17:04.He was picking an item on average every 37 seconds - Amazon want him
:17:05. > :17:20.to be four seconds quicker. On another shift, Adam asks a
:17:21. > :17:44.different manager what will happen if he doesn't speed up.
:17:45. > :17:48.Of course, many companies have performance targets and Amazon says
:17:49. > :17:54.only two of its 5,000 permanent employees have been sacked for poor
:17:55. > :18:04.productivity this year. But Amazon wouldn't tell us how many temporary
:18:05. > :18:08.workers like Adam were affected. He has found it a tough job with tough
:18:09. > :18:11.targets, but could it also be bad for Adam's health? Professor Michael
:18:12. > :18:20.Marmot is an expert on stress at work.
:18:21. > :18:26.I'll pick the item, scan it and then it'll start counting down on the
:18:27. > :18:29.screen to get to the next location and pick the item as well. Counting
:18:30. > :18:34.down and giving you the timings? Yeah. So you are literally against
:18:35. > :18:38.the clock for each stage of the journey? It's telling you how long
:18:39. > :18:44.you have to get to the next location and pack the item? Yeah, from...
:18:45. > :18:48.From each one. So, it counts down and you scan to pick, pick an item,
:18:49. > :18:50.and it resets. So what does Professor Marmot think of what he's
:18:51. > :18:57.seen? What we know about work environments
:18:58. > :19:00.from a variety of studies around the world in different sort of jobs
:19:01. > :19:03.suggest that various dimensions of the work environment are bad for
:19:04. > :19:08.health. And it's almost as if what I've just heard has taken them all.
:19:09. > :19:11.All of them, and distilled them into a short sharp shock, and said, "Here
:19:12. > :19:16.you are, here's all the bad stuff all at once."
:19:17. > :19:21.Professor Marmot has no doubt that working like this can be bad for
:19:22. > :19:24.your health. A job where you have little control but are under
:19:25. > :19:30.pressure can be a dangerous combination. The characteristics of
:19:31. > :19:32.this type of job, the evidence shows increased risk of mental illness and
:19:33. > :19:41.physical illness. Amazon says staff safety is its
:19:42. > :19:45."number one priority" and official safety inspections have not raised
:19:46. > :19:48.concerns. An independent expert appointed by Amazon said the job
:19:49. > :19:54.isn't unusual and "does not increase the risk of mental and physical
:19:55. > :19:57.illness". But any kind of sickness at Amazon can come at a price. The
:19:58. > :20:02.company operate a disciplinary system based on points. Adam was
:20:03. > :20:07.told if he got three points he'd be fired. A day off for illness earns
:20:08. > :20:13.you one point - even going home sick gets you half a point. It was a
:20:14. > :20:18.Friday afternoon, I rang in sick and I got a point straightaway for it. I
:20:19. > :20:21.had to go home about half-way through the shift because I'd been
:20:22. > :20:25.throwing up, and I got half a point for that. I threw my back out. I
:20:26. > :20:29.then received a point for that sickness. Once you build up three
:20:30. > :20:33.points you are out of a job. If... Once you hit one point, it's a
:20:34. > :20:34.warning, two points it's a final warning and your third point is, get
:20:35. > :20:42.out the door. Amazon say only 11 of its permanent
:20:43. > :20:46.employees have been dismissed for attendance this year, and the system
:20:47. > :20:49.they use is fair and predictable. Back in the warehouse, Adam is
:20:50. > :20:55.picking up disciplinary points. Being late costs half a point - and
:20:56. > :20:56.Adam has been late twice. But then he is told there's another late he
:20:57. > :21:14.didn't know about. So, for being two minutes late, he's
:21:15. > :21:15.got another half a point. It's getting more serious, he has
:21:16. > :21:31.one-and-a-half points. The points will be cleared from his
:21:32. > :21:35.record after three months. But even if Adam doesn't reach three points,
:21:36. > :21:40.he might not keep his job. Amazon is taking on 15,000 temporary workers
:21:41. > :21:41.for Christmas. Adam's told after the holidays, those with the worst
:21:42. > :22:11.records will go. It's organisational injustice. It's
:22:12. > :22:16.not, my boss is a rotter and treats me badly and he's unfair to me. It's
:22:17. > :22:19.not that. It's the sense that, the way that the organisation is
:22:20. > :22:24.structured is unjust and there is injustice.
:22:25. > :22:30.Amazon strongly denies exploiting its workers or dismissing them
:22:31. > :22:33.without good reason. It says it has created 2,300 new "permanent
:22:34. > :22:43.positions" but "simply cannot retain 15,000 seasonal workers".
:22:44. > :22:50.Local book trader Paul Came is still struggling to compete. Today, he's
:22:51. > :22:58.closing his shop in Monmouth. It's the seventh he has closed in the
:22:59. > :23:02.last five years. This shop will close in the next 30 minutes.
:23:03. > :23:06.Tonight, we will stock take the shop for the closing down stock, then
:23:07. > :23:11.tomorrow I'll have a couple of my lads will be up and we'll pack
:23:12. > :23:14.everything away. So, yeah, difficult, emotional - not something
:23:15. > :23:25.you want to go through as often as I've had to over the past five
:23:26. > :23:29.years. I really, really enjoyed it. It's been lovely. Thanks for all
:23:30. > :23:33.support. You know we've tried. So yes, it's a sad day, but thanks
:23:34. > :23:38.again for everything. All good things come to an end. Ah!
:23:39. > :23:49.Difficult. Back in the warehouse, Adam has told
:23:50. > :23:54.his managers about his blisters - he's been moved to a picking job
:23:55. > :24:10.that involved less walking. But it's still more than six miles a night.
:24:11. > :24:14.On this job, he works a smaller area but has higher targets. He's hitting
:24:15. > :24:31.them some of the time. But he always tires as his shift
:24:32. > :25:04.wears on. His pick rate falls and the managers can see it.
:25:05. > :25:10.On another shift, Adam feels unwell so has to go home. That's another
:25:11. > :25:16.disciplinary offence and another half a point. So, when he comes in
:25:17. > :25:42.for his next shift, he's up to two points - that means a final warning.
:25:43. > :25:48.Adam is now back on the tougher shifts. He's on two points and has a
:25:49. > :25:51.final warning. We think he's seen enough, and he resigns. For Adam -
:25:52. > :26:01.life behind the click was hard. Like a lot of people, I'm used to
:26:02. > :26:05.Amazon as a customer, and it's convenient and bright. So I sort of
:26:06. > :26:09.thought if I was going to go and work for the company, it would sort
:26:10. > :26:12.of be a happy, positive place. But it seems to be the complete
:26:13. > :26:18.opposite, to be honest. You know, it's not - not like any other job
:26:19. > :26:22.that I've done before. Paul Came, the Cardiff book trader,
:26:23. > :26:31.is trying to fight back. Tonight is the launch party. Paul has his own
:26:32. > :26:35.website. Long overdue, a dream of my son's. If you'd like to, Warren, I
:26:36. > :26:45.think we should click it together just to launch it and go live. We
:26:46. > :26:49.will be able to be more competitive with prices, that is, the 15% that
:26:50. > :26:55.we're paying Amazon, we can use to discount books a bit more. I did say
:26:56. > :26:59.at the beginning, if you can't beat them, join them.
:27:00. > :27:04.There's no doubt Amazon has forced the competition to change. They've
:27:05. > :27:05.told us they rely on the good judgment of thousands of
:27:06. > :27:16.employees... What's certainly true is that from
:27:17. > :27:21.click to delivery, they're cheap and efficient - but does that efficiency
:27:22. > :27:27.come at a price for workers? This is happening in our back yard, this is
:27:28. > :27:30.happening in this country. And being seduced by getting a couple of
:27:31. > :27:35.pounds off a product, you've got to ask yourself what price are we
:27:36. > :27:42.paying. Now if you say to me, yeah, but they're always going to be
:27:43. > :27:47.menial jobs. Well, of course, but we can make them better or worse. And
:27:48. > :27:50.it seems to me the demands of efficiency at the cost of
:27:51. > :27:52.individuals' health and wellbeing - it's got to be balanced.
:27:53. > :27:58.Millions of us will be buying presents on Amazon over the next
:27:59. > :28:01.couple of weeks. The Amazon click has made our Christmas easier and
:28:02. > :28:08.given us more time - but the fetching and carrying hasn't gone
:28:09. > :28:10.away. It's just being done by someone else - working hard and up
:28:11. > :28:21.against the clock. Next week - we investigate the UK
:28:22. > :28:28.aid that should be used to save lives that's gone astray.