Unions call for fair worker standards as part of government NBN contract awarded to Amazon

The ACTU, SDA and TWU who represent tens of thousands of workers across Amazon’s supply chains have welcomed news that regional Australians having better access to NBN, but are calling for conditions to be attached to government contracts to ensure they benefit workers and the Australian community.

The unions are calling on the Federal Government to apply the Australian Commonwealth Procurement Rules, which require that public funds are not used to support unethical or unsafe supplier practices, including tax avoidance, worker exploitation, or other unethical practices like undermining freedom of association.

The Federal Government should ensure that Amazon, across its entire supply chain and all of its corporate entities, is required through these sorts of public contracts to treat workers ethically and fairly, and have a voice through their unions that Amazon listens to and engages constructively and cooperatively with.

While there are limited delivery options in the short-term, unions are also calling on the Federal Government to support domestic capacity in this area of critical infrastructure, instead of being overly reliant on companies like Amazon with its global track record of tax minimisation, invasive worker surveillance and union-busting.

TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said:

“The Federal Government has huge power to make sure its contracts—many in the billions of dollars—benefit Australian workers and the rest of the Australian community.

“We welcome regional Australians having better access to NBN but we need to see the government push Amazon to ensure workers are consulted, and have decent jobs—not just award public money with no strings attached.

ACTU President Michele O’Neil said:

 “Unions welcome improved NBN access for regional workers, but public money must come with public responsibility. Amazon’s global record of tax minimisation, worker surveillance and union-busting cannot be ignored.

“The Federal Government should ensure the company’s contracts uphold ethical standards, and that includes fair treatment for working people in Australia and across Amazon’s supply chain. We should also invest in our own local capacity to deliver these critical services, so we are not limited to powerful multinational companies.”

SDA National Secretary Gerard Dwyer said:

“This announcement will be welcomed by regional Australia, but we shouldn’t have to rely on a choice between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to provide this critical infrastructure.

“While we develop domestic capacity in this area it’s critical that the Federal Government uses its purchasing power to push Amazon to treat workers across its supply chain ethically and fairly, and provides a voice through their unions.

“Ethical behaviour should be the cost of doing business with the Australian people.”