This company delivers packages faster than Amazon, but the employees pay the price

This example of Jang’s death shows how exploitable this arrangement can be. Every day, as Shift was a day worker who demanded shifts through Coupon, he was concerned about his precarious work situation. But he hoped to continue in the good graces of the company apply for a permanent job, his mother, Park Mi-sook, told me. During the months of his death, he worked from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. often overtime, for a maximum of 59 hours seven days in a row, earning a minimum wage (equivalent to about $ 7.60 per hour). “It would be completely eliminated after each term expires,” Park said.

In 2019, Coupang went up from day to day delivery service The previous evening’s offer was guaranteed to be given at 7:00 am, the night shift in the Daegu warehouse usually increased the number of periods around three seven, according to an employee. The encounter with them had a physical impact: Athletic and built solidly, Jang has lost about 30 pounds since he started in Coupang in June 2019, Park said. He added that the rapid weight loss caused wrinkles on his face.

In February, the South Korean government officially took office attributed Jang’s death thanks to overwork. Final report At his death, Jang’s body showed signs of severe muscle failure. Coupange apologized and ordered to improve working conditions, such as increasing medical examinations of employees.

In a statement sent by e-mail, a spokesman for Coupange stated that Jang’s death was the only one officially linked to work in the company’s history. And he said the recent investment in warehouse automation “increases efficiency and reduces the workload for our employees.”

Concerns around the world

All of this should be familiar to those who follow Amazon, as company drivers and filling center staff have now complained about the almost same problems that are now arising in Coupang. Amazon has also been criticized for slowing down the pace of work leads them high injury rates, the use of staff care and dismissal algorithms, oppressor productivity requirements and a business model that treats employees like robots it seems being dependent on disposable labor.

In the United States, grief over these conditions prompted a historic path of unionization at Amazon’s headquarters in Bessemer, Alabama earlier this year. Union organizer Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Union of Retail, Wholesale and Retail Stores (RWDSU), spoke about the “unbearable” pace of the company’s warehouses and explain: “This is really about the future of work. People are managed by an algorithm. They are disciplined by an app on their phone. And they throw out text messages. People have had enough.” In response, Amazon has a long way to go history activities that disrupt unions, including polling and intimidating workers, was launched a large-scale anti-union power, while denying allegations that its distributors were forced to pee in bottles. Amazon has since denied these reports, but eventually won Bessemer’s vote.