Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are in the middle of the Black Friday sales. This is an exciting time for consumers, but we should never forget the workers that make it possible for us to seek out bargain basement prices. From the day that Amazon opened their first site in Australia, the SDA and TWU have fought for workers' rights. These are highly casualised environments in which workers are under constant pressure to meet targets. 'I don't drink water when I go to work, so I don't have to go to the toilet,' said one worker. 'I feel like they resent the fact that I'm not a robot and that I'm made of flesh and bone,' said another worker. We must listen to these people.

Amazon's highly casualised workplace makes it difficult for workers to unionise, but we know that a strong union presence is a key condition of job security and a living wage. Amazon all too often resists unionisation efforts. It actually advertised a job to undertake global surveillance of the union activity of the company's workers. Unions and workers around the world, including here in Australia, are fighting for fair, decent conditions. Last Friday, Amazon workers from more than 40 countries took part in the Make Amazon Pay day of action, demanding higher wages and better conditions. I support the continued actions of the SDA and the TWU in representing Amazon workers at all points of the supply chain. It's time to make Amazon pay what's fair.