LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) -UK lawmakers have called on Amazon to clarify
comments made by a senior executive at a recent parliamentary
hearing, after an advocacy group accused him of providing
"misleading" evidence concerning the company's treatment of
warehouse workers.An Amazon spokesperson told Reuters the company strongly
denied the executive - European policy chief Brian Palmer - had
misled parliament when he testified to the Business, Energy,
and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee on Nov. 15 as
part of a wide-reaching panel on technology in the workplace.At issue is whether Amazon uses tracking technology in
its warehouses in Britain primarily to surveil worker
productivity – a claim Amazon has repeatedly denied – or to
promote worker safety, as the company says.In response to a question about workplace surveillance from
the chairman of the committee, Labour MP Darren Jones, Palmer
said it was used mostly to monitor goods rather than people:
"They are not primarily or even secondarily to identify
under-performers. Performance-related feedback is really focused
on safety."Palmer also told MPs that Amazon continues to "perform
better than industry" on employee safety, and he said warehouse
workers could easily access their performance targets through
"online tools that are made available to every single employee".In a Dec. 2 letter seen by Reuters, Foxglove, a London-based
worker advocacy group, wrote to the committee disputing Palmer's
statements."Brian Palmer's evidence was materially misleading in
several respects," the letter said, refuting his statements on
the use of tracking tools, Amazon's track record on safety and
the transparency of workers' performance targets. It cited legal
filings related to U.S. court cases where regulators say safety
risks arose because of productivity pressure, and testimony from
workers at five warehouses in the UK."The Committee may wish to clarify with Mr Palmer and Amazon
whether the company can prove that the position is different in
UK warehouses - a matter that Amazon should be asked to
demonstrate with evidence, rather than merely assert," the group
said.Committee member Andy McDonald, MP for Middlesbrough for the
opposition Labour party, said he had raised concerns about
Palmer's testimony in writing with the group, after viewing
Foxglove's letter."We were extremely unhappy with his testimony," McDonald
told Reuters. "If somebody comes before the Committee and
misleads us, they are duty-bound to correct the record."Rather than recall Palmer, however, Committee chair Jones
has written to Amazon, outlining eight points he said required
further explanation, related to allegations of employee
surveillance and health and safety data."If the Committee isn't satisfied with the quality of the
answers we will call Amazon to give further public evidence," he
wrote.Palmer declined a Reuters request for comment.An Amazon spokesperson said that Amazon used CCTV cameras
"to ensure the safety of employees and security of products".Amazon has a system to recognize strong performance by
employees and to encourage coaching for those who are not
meeting their goals, the spokesperson said."To suggest that the use of these standard business
practices amount to surveillance of employees is wrong," the
Amazon spokesperson added.Labour's Shadow Minister for Employment Rights and
Protections, Justin Madders MP, told Reuters his party would
introduce legislation "to protect workers from surveillance"
should it win the next general election in Britain.The incident comes at a time when Amazon is facing
accusations by the U.S. Department of Labor that it failed to
properly record work-related injuries and illnesses at six
warehouses in five states.Amazon has until Jan. 24 to respond to Jones' letter.
(Reporting by Martin Coulter
Editing by Daniel Flynn and Aurora Ellis)