Belgian delivery drivers for Amazon receive 'You are fired' message via WhatsApp
The drivers were informed via text message that their employer, KM Group, had gone bankrupt, leaving them without July's salary. Unions say they also haven't received the necessary paperwork to be able to access unemployment benefit.
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00:00Around 100 delivery drivers working for the Amazon subcontractor KM Group have been collectively
00:08dismissed via WhatsApp. The drivers were informed via text message that the company had gone
00:14bankrupt leaving them without July salary. They also say they haven't received the necessary
00:19forms to be able to apply for unemployment benefit.
00:22It's been a month without salary. How can I pay the credit with my bank? The bank wants
00:27its money every month. You have to pay the credit. But if there is no income, how do
00:32you do it?
00:33It's difficult for us. It's quite difficult for us. To find ourselves without anything
00:39at all. Suddenly. And we don't know what to do.
00:45Unions say KM Group's bankruptcy was filed after the US online retail giant Amazon refused
00:51to renegotiate the terms of the contract. They also slammed the way the workers were
00:56sacked. While KM Group should have immediately started bankruptcy proceedings in court, a
01:02union representative said the company's balance sheet still hasn't been officially submitted.
01:07We wanted to raise awareness. It's the people who buy things via the internet on Amazon
01:12or others. It's behind the Hunter button. When they press Hunter, we put in place a
01:18machine where workers sometimes work in unacceptable conditions.
01:23Unions say KM Group has confirmed it doesn't have the funds available to pay the dismissed
01:28staff the wages they are owed.