Are Amazon Drivers in Japan Reaching Their Limits?
- September 15, 2024
- Tags: amazon, amazon japan, film
- Categories: Business & Economics, Entertainment
Jay Allen
A series of news reports and a new film are criticizing the pressure Amazon Japan is placing on its delivery drivers.
Amazon delivery drivers globally have complained about being overworked by their employer. This is no exception in Japan. Over the past year, local media has increasingly focused on the plight of drivers who are required to deliver more than 200 packages daily. A new film currently topping Japanese box offices also criticizes the company.
Struggles of Delivery Workers
A local photo shop owner delivers Amazon packages in his free time. (Source: TBS News Dig)
Since the launch of Amazon.co.jp in November 2000, Amazon’s presence in Japan has grown significantly. The subsidiary generates about $17.7 billion from its annual business volume of $65.01 billion and employs over 1.5 million people.
To drive this growth, Amazon not only uses full-time delivery drivers but also hires part-timers. A program launched last year recruits local merchants and others to deliver small packages in their communities during off-hours using bicycles or on foot.
Amazon Japan needs these additional workers. As with many industries in Japan recently, the company and its logistics service providers are struggling to fill vacant positions. This has forced the company to find new ways to deliver packages from sorting centers to customers’ doorsteps—the “last mile.”
Delivering 200 Packages a Day
Unfortunately, according to several media reports, labor shortages have also led Amazon Japan to place inhumane pressure on its existing drivers.
A story by TBS News Dig last year featured a 50-year-old female driver who runs her delivery business independently with her car packed full of Amazon packages. She uses an app developed by Amazon that employs machine learning algorithms to plan routes. Some deliveries require climbing several meters of stairs, even beyond the reach of cars.
“We have no freedom,” she told the news team. She showed them 110 packages in her car—she had to deliver all of these by 3 PM. Her only break was a ten-minute bathroom break.
The driver managed to deliver the 110 packages by 3 PM. Her reward? Another 93 packages to be delivered by 9 PM.
“Just a Robot”
That was last year’s situation. Has anything changed?
According to a July report by NTV News, nothing has changed. A driver showed the news team his van packed with packages and had only six hours to deliver about 118 of them.
Redelivery exacerbates this time pressure. If customers are not at home and have not authorized leaving parcels outside, drivers must attempt redelivery later in the day.
Many apartment buildings do have secure parcel boxes where drivers can leave packages. However, space is limited. In such cases, some drivers may carry other residents’ parcels and enter the building to place them by recipients’ doors. If they cannot, they must return later, further straining their already tight schedules.
The driver in the NTV report worked a 12-hour shift. “I have to deliver the same volume of packages regardless of weather,” he said. “I’m just a robot.”
‘Last Mile’: New Film Questions Amazon’s System
Mitsushima Hikari plays Funado Elena in ‘LAST MILE.’
Amazon Japan is not just criticized in news reports. A new film by a renowned Japanese screenwriter questions how Amazon treats its delivery drivers and the company’s “leadership principles.”
‘Last Mile’ stars Mitsushima Hikari and Okada Masaki, written by Nogi Akiko, who has created TV series like ‘Unnatural’ and ‘MIU404.’
Nogi’s works are not only entertaining but also tackle real-world social issues. For example, ‘Unnatural’ explored the sensitive topic of why so few autopsies are performed in Japan. In ‘Last Mile,’ she examines Amazon’s business model and its impact on employees.
The Cost of Next-Day Delivery
In the film, a package explodes shortly after being delivered to an old apartment by a driver. This was the first of twelve explosive packages sent out by Daily Fast, a fictional company modeled after Amazon. In the movie, a manager at a Daily Fast sorting center on her first day and a team supervisor work with police and forensic investigators to recover the remaining parcels before they explode.
The film focuses not only on employees at Daily Fast’s sorting centers but also on those at its delivery company and its drivers. The story gradually reveals how the fast pace of deliveries affects everyone in the supply chain.
Clearly, Nogi conducted extensive research into Amazon for ‘Last Mile.’ The movie attacks key aspects of Amazon’s work culture. For example, Daily Fast employees follow “Twelve Principles” similar to Amazon’s “Leadership Principles.”
As a former Amazon employee (working at Amazon Web Services from 2014 to 2019), I am interested in moments in the film that seem to draw from my previous employer’s daily life. For example, several scenes discuss how Daily Fast employees use the Twelve Principles as “weapons” to push for desired outcomes. My colleagues and I often complained over drinks about how people used leadership principles to end discussions rather than advance them.
‘Last Mile’ is currently topping Japanese box offices. It has not only received praise as a good story but also as a sharp critique of Amazon’s failure to treat its employees well.
Driver Union in Japan
Amazon Japan is not an exception. Delivery drivers globally have reported harsh working conditions, especially during holidays.
For years, Amazon has distanced itself from the plight of its drivers, who are hired through third-party delivery service partners (DSPs). The company claims it is not responsible for their work conditions since they are not employees.
This dodge is starting to unravel. In the US, drivers have united and formed unions. Further pressure comes from a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that workers at two key DSPs are Amazon’s “co-employees.” These moves prompted Amazon to announce an investment of $2.1 billion in its delivery network to improve driver compensation.
In Japan, drivers have organized into a union with the help of Tokyo General Union, which has been aiding workers across Japan since 1979 to form unions. Earlier this year, lawyers for the Yokosuka branch of the Amazon Delivery Drivers Union sued the company, demanding that the court rule it should pay overtime wages to its independent delivery drivers.
Amazon Japan hires independent contractors because, under Japanese law, these independent business agreements have no overtime limits or requirements for overtime pay. The union argues that since these businesses operate under clear instructions from Amazon Japan, they should be classified as employees and thus receive the same benefits and protections as other workers.
Amazon Japan has declined to comment on this matter. However, as shown by this lawsuit, the company cannot avoid addressing this issue indefinitely. Eventually, it will have to respond either in the media or in court regarding its questionable labor practices.
References
[Working Conditions] Amazon Delivery Drivers “Can’t Finish Deliveries…,” Over 200 Packages a Day, Only 10 Minutes of Rest… Is This the Responsibility of the Delivery Service? TBS News Dig
Amazon Delivery “Harsh” Reality… More Than 200 in 12 Hours, Am I Just a Robot… NTV News
Last Mile. Wikipedia JP
Amazon’s Expansion into “Self-Operated Logistics,” SAGAWA and YAMATO Counterattack! Logistics Companies Accelerate Their Departure from Amazon. Diamond Online
Amazon Delivery Drivers Expected to Receive a 7% Raise After Considering Union Formation. Business Insider
Amazon Delivery Driver Sues Transportation Company for “Overtime Pay” “Discretionary, Working 12-13 Hours Daily.” Tokyo Shimbun
Stand Up! Amazon Delivery Drivers. Tokyo Union
Source Website: Unseen Japan
