In what appears to be a first-of-its-kind filing, Oxfam criticizes the U.S. companies for their human rights violations against domestic workforces.
Today, Oxfam, the global organization fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice, submitted a formal communication with the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteurs on Poverty, Health, and Freedom of Association regarding the systematic human rights violations Amazon and Walmart have committed against their U.S.-based workforces. This filing appears to be the first time such complaints have been raised to the UN Working Group against U.S. companies for their domestic operations and workforces, as opposed to those of their global supply chains.
Oxfam’s submission details how Amazon and Walmart have normalized abusive behavior in their warehouses and stores, adopting a range of labor practices intended to maximize profits at the expense of worker health and safety. Namely, Oxfam identifies Amazon and Walmart’s reliance on excessive surveillance technology, union busting, and grossly inadequate wages as evidence of how the companies inflict harm on their domestic workforce and ultimately contribute to deepening economic inequalities in the U.S.
“As the two largest private employers in the U.S., Amazon and Walmart should set high standards for treating workers with dignity and respect, and yet they continually fail to do so,” said Abby Maxman, President and CEO of Oxfam America. "These labor violations particularly harm women and workers of color, especially through injury rates and mental health impacts, but the companies’ human rights abuses should concern us all. We hope that escalating this issue to the UN level will finally inspire Amazon and Walmart to start prioritizing worker well-being, not only profit.”
Notably, Oxfam filed its communication in partnership with current Amazon and Walmart workers, whose testimonies underscore the harmful effects of the companies’ operations on their domestic workforces. The two co-signing workers—one from Amazon and one from Walmart—especially highlight the adverse physical and mental impacts of productivity metrics and the excessive surveillance used to enforce them:
“They monitor us with cameras. They have cameras throughout their whole building. . . . It's not a good feeling at all because it's like we're in prison,” said the co-signing Amazon warehouse worker.
The communication is also signed by allies at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility Advancing Worker Justice Program, LaborLab, Open MIC, Advance ESG, Mercy Investments, Congregation of Saint Joseph, Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Corporate Advisory Board, and Sisters of Charity, Province of St. Louise.
Oxfam’s complaint urges the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights to request that Amazon and Walmart take immediate action to stop these pervasive violations. Additionally, it calls on Amazon and Walmart to implement better labor policies and practices—such as ceasing or significantly reforming the use of worker surveillance technologies to enforce unreasonable performance standards—in order to protect worker health and safety. The communication similarly highlights steps that the companies should take to minimize their adverse impacts on poverty and inequality in the U.S. Oxfam also requests the Working Group raises these specific concerns with the U.S. government, which has an obligation to ensure that companies headquartered and operating in its territory are not committing widespread human rights abuses.
This filing is part of Oxfam’s continued engagement with Amazon and Walmart over their problematic business practices. Earlier this year, Oxfam published a report on how the companies’ excessive use of surveillance technology in their warehouses erodes workers’ rights and jeopardizes workers’ health, safety, and well-being.
Oxfam is a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice. We offer lifesaving support in times of crisis and advocate for economic justice, gender equality, and climate action. We demand equal rights and equal treatment so that everyone can thrive, not just survive. The future is equal. Join us at oxfamamerica.org.
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Notes to editors:
Download Oxfam's communication to UN Special Procedures on labor abuses at Amazon and Walmart here.
Oxfam has redacted parts of the complaint text in order to protect the co-signing workers’ identities.
Read Oxfam’s report, “At Work and Under Watch: Surveillance and suffering at Amazon and Walmart warehouses,” here.
Read more about how Amazon and Walmart drive economic inequality in the U.S. in Oxfam’s briefing note, “Business at an Inhuman Scale,” here.