AN AMAZON worker who survived a tuberculosis outbreak in its Coventry warehouse told of her ordeal as GMB’s conference said today the online retailer’s migrant worker employment policies “verge on modern-day slavery.”
Midlands delegate Ruweida Barkhadle was among several workers at the massive site who tested positive for the disease last September.
She told delegates in Blackpool: “I spent weeks fighting for my life.. it feels like we are being dragged straight back into the 18th century.”
They voted for her motion for GMB to push for the creation of a direct and formal channel for unions to raise urgent concerns with the Health and Safety Executive.
The union will also demand that the Fair Work Agency launches an inquiry into “Amazon’s exploitative use of migrant workers as it verges on modern-day slavery.”
Amazon faced criticism for not closing the site after the outbreak was confirmed.
ROGER McKENZIE calls for greater support from trade unionists and the general public for female workers involved in industrial disputes


