Amazon delivery delays are growing as the GMB union threatened to walk out following the outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) at the online retailer’s site in Coventry.
Multiple cases of TB have been reported, which has led the GMB to call for the hub to be closed immediately, noting NHS staff attended the site to perform blood tests.
Some 3,000 employees work on the campus, with Amazon confirming that 10 people had tested positive for non-contagious TB in September.
A spokesman for Amazon said no additional cases had since been identified and its side continued to run as normal.
It confirmed a “screening programme” was being carried out amid “an abundance of caution”.
The statement read: “In line with best practice safety procedures, we immediately followed guidance from the NHS and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and made all potentially affected employees aware of the situation.
“We will continue to follow guidance from the experts in the NHS, and would respectfully remind public organisations of the need for responsible communications where matters of public wellbeing are concerned.”
Dr Roger Gajraj, consultant in health protection with UKHSA West Midlands, said: “The small number of individuals affected by tuberculosis are responding well to treatment and are no longer infectious, so pose no onward risk.
The GMB have called for Amazon to close the warehouse
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“As a precaution, and in line with national guidance, we are offering testing to those who may have had closer contact with the affected individuals. The overall risk remains low.
“TB is fully treatable with antibiotics. We continue to work closely with Amazon to monitor the situation.”
But the GMB union has called for all staff to be sent home and medically suspended on full pay “until appropriate infection control measures are implemented to prevent the further spread of TB”.
GMB Senior Organiser Amanda Gearing called for “immediate and decisive action”.
The GMB previously protested at the Amazon warehouse
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Amada Gearing, GMB Senior Organiser, said: “Currently, Amazon is putting all workers, site visitors, and the local and wider communities at risk of exposure to a serious infectious disease.
“Coventry Amazon risks becoming the engine room of a mass TB outbreak on a scale not seen for decades.
“Immediate and decisive action – including the temporary closure of Amazon Coventry – is required to prevent this.”
Your Party MP for Coventry South, Zarah Sultana, said Amazon not closing the site is “outrageous”, adding the company owned by Jeff Bezos is treating “its employees as if they’re disposable”.
Zarah Sultana described not closing the site as ‘outrageous’
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PAShe said: “With multiple confirmed cases on site, the warehouse must be shut down immediately and workers sent home on full pay.
“This is a corporation that clearly thinks it’s above the law, forcing people into conditions that belong in the Victorian era.
“It’s a stark reminder of why the trade union movement was founded in the first place.”
TB is a bacterial infection primarily impacting the lungs. It is both preventable and treatable, but if not addressed, it can lead to permanent lung damage.