Amazon Flex drivers on battling bots and the culture of fear to keep their jobs
Amazon Flex drivers have spoken about their difficulties with the company. (ABC News: Sharon Gordon)
In short:
Amazon Flex is advertised as a way for people to make money on their terms delivering packages for the global tech giant.
Its drivers say they live in fear of losing access to the platform for errors or unproved allegations of wrongdoing but Amazon says no-one loses access to the platform without manual human review.
What's next?
In one matter before the Fair Work Commission, a driver with 22,000 successful deliveries under his belt was terminated from the platform after a disputed customer complaint.
Amazon offers customers in major cities convenience.
Like magic, packages ranging from cleaning products to electronics can appear on their doorstep within hours.
Delivering these packages is supposed to be convenient for its drivers as well, who are promised a flexible method of making money on their own schedule.
But Amazon Flex delivery partners, as they are called, have described to the ABC a system in which users who flout rules and use bots to snatch competitive delivery shifts go undetected and unpunished by the tech giant.
Drivers, who requested anonymity to protect their income, also raised concerns about the online shopping behemoth's practices.
It comes as dedicated delivery partners are threatened with removal from the platform for infractions they might not have committed and struggle to rebut.
"They use a carrot and stick approach, but they use a lot more stick than carrot," one driver told the ABC.
Another said: "Amazon Flex is a great side hustle, however, working for them does come at a cost."
Amazon Flex drivers are not directly employed by Amazon but as independent contractors who use their own car to deliver packages.
Shifts, known as blocks, are released via an app that includes the time limit and payment: for example, $154 for a four-hour shift.
Amazon Flex drivers are independent contractors and use their own car to deliver packages. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
Blocks can include dozens of deliveries and drivers fork out for petrol, insurance and any parking tickets.
One driver who spoke to the ABC has received several parking fines and lost demerit points delivering to customers in Sydney's busy city centre.
"When delivering in CBD areas with no legal parking or safe stopping options, we are forced to either risk fines or leave packages undelivered and we are penalised either way," the driver said.
Battling with bots for work
Delivery blocks can be subject to heavy competition and some Flex drivers pay commission to bot-led programs that snatch them immediately upon release.
While this is a breach of Amazon's terms of service, several drivers told the ABC complaints about their use had not been addressed.
Meanwhile, drivers described receiving automated communication incorrectly accusing them of breaches, such as failing to deliver packages, delivering them late or not following a customer's delivery instructions.
In one example seen by the ABC, a driver received a warning from the platform because of "multiple late deliveries".
One driver who spoke to the ABC has received several parking fines and lost demerit points delivering in Sydney's busy CBD. (ABC News: Liam Patrick)
The driver's response to Amazon — that all packages had been delivered within the block and that an app outage was to blame for how the time was recorded — was accepted as "an unexpected situation beyond your control", a response that frustrated the driver.
Amazon's response also came with a warning that having the alleged violation wiped may not improve the driver's overall standing with the company.
He was one of several drivers who described it as "impossible" to speak with a human at the company, even when wrongly accused of violating Amazon policies.
"It feels like you're walking on eggshells constantly … because you never know when or how you're going to get terminated,"that driver said.
Amazon defends interaction with drivers
An Amazon spokesman said the company was clear in communicating its expectations when drivers sign up to the Flex platform.
"On the rare occasion where we end a delivery partner's engagement with us, we always do so with careful consideration and manual human review," the spokesman said.
"We analyse all circumstances, investigate thoroughly, and provide a right to respond before terminating access to the Amazon Flex program."
Amazon is expanding in Australia.
The tech giant claims that by 2026 it will have invested $1.6 billion in opening five new sites across Australia, and already employs about 7,000 people.
Amazon did not answer how many people are signed up to the Flex platform.
Dr Rawling says some drivers use Flex as their primary source of income. (ABC News: Supplied)
UTS law faculty senior lecturer Michael Rawling said he took issue with Flex being advertised as a way to make extra money, given many people used it as their primary source of income.
"The implication is we don't need to pay people as much because they're just getting pocket money or beer money,"Dr Rawling said.
"Whatever work you're doing, you need to be paid a wage that affords you the ability to participate in a civilised community."
"It's voluntary to use the app, but in the labour market you have to take the opportunities that are available to you, and some people have less opportunities than others."
Action taken against Amazon
Amazon Flex is now defending at least two unfair deactivation claims at the Fair Work Commission.
According to findings from an administrative hearing, Gopal Bandameeda had completed 22,000 successful Amazon deliveries before losing access to the Flex platform when a customer complained that the driver had entered his house to deliver a package.
Mr Bandameeda argued he had been invited into the home, but his appeals to retain access to the platform were rejected.
According to the findings, published in August, Mr Bandameeda was caring for both his chronically ill wife and their newborn baby when he lost access to his Amazon income stream.
Amazon Flex is now defending at least two unfair deactivation claims at the Fair Work Commission. (ABC News: Liam Patrick)
His physical and mental health "deteriorated significantly", according to the findings, and he was having suicidal thoughts, which were reported to Amazon by Mr Bandameeda and his wife.
His case is ongoing.
The Transport Workers' Union (TWU) last month filed its first unfair deactivation application against Amazon Flex on behalf of South Australian driver Brijesh Patel, who lost access to the platform after being accused of being responsible for multiple undelivered packages, then leaving a package unattended instead of directly delivering to a customer as requested.
His explanation that he had informed the support team he had been unable to deliver the packages due to "extremely bad weather", and a denial he had failed to follow delivery instructions, did not help his case.
His account was deactivated.
TWU national secretary Michael Kaine commended national laws that took effect in August and grant gig economy workers additional rights, including protection from unfair deactivation from digital labour platforms.
Last month, Uber was ordered to pay two months of lost wages to a driver who was removed from the rideshare platform after an unproven allegation of threatening behaviour.
"Gig workers deserve a fair, transparent system, not to be kicked off an app because an algorithm arbitrarily decides so," Mr Kaine said.
Amazon did not comment directly on the matters before the Fair Work Commission, but said it looked forward to clarification of the new laws.
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