Amazon would block words like ‘ethics’, ‘fairness’, and ‘union’ from its internal messaging app

The app would be used to post ‘Shout-Outs’ but letting employees say what they want could ‘risk ... negative sentiments among the viewers and the receivers’

(AFP via Getty Images)

Amazon made plans to block and flag words related to unionization in an internal messaging app, a new report alleges.

An automatic monitor would block a lengthy list of words including: ‘union’, ‘compensation’, ‘pay raise’, ‘bullying’, harassment’, ‘diversity’, ‘ethics’, ‘fairness’, ‘plantation’, ‘freedom’, and ‘concerned’, among others, according to the report.

The aim of the program, according to Amazon higher-ups, was be to increase productivity and happiness by letting employees recognize colleagues performance with ‘Shout-Out’ posts.

However, an internal document stated: “With free text, we risk people writing Shout-Outs that generate negative sentiments among the viewers and the receivers. We want to lean towards being restrictive on the content that can be posted to prevent a negative associate experience.”

The platform would apparently be similar to online dating app Bumble, with employees talking directly to one another, rather than Facebook’s Workplace platform, for example.

Shout-Outs would be gamified so that employees were rewarded with virtual stars and badges for activities that “add direct business value,” because “some people are insane star collectors.”

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent before publication. “Our teams are always thinking about new ways to help employees engage with each other,” Amazon spokesperson Barbara M. Agrait told The Intercept, which first reported the story. “This particular program has not been approved yet and may change significantly or even never launch at all.”

Amazon’s relationship with union attempts has been oft-criticised. A fired warehouse organiser, this week, succeeded in creating the company’s first ever union.

“Like most companies, we have performance expectations for every Amazonian – be it corporate employee or fulfilment centre associate and we measure actual performance against those expectations," Amazon said in response to the accusation at the time.

In a rare public apology, Amazon has also admitted that the retail giant’s employees have urinated in bottles. This came after the company repeatedly dismissed reporting and employee statements detailing the well-known practice among workers, facing pressure to meet Amazon’s deadlines without bathroom breaks.

In a poll exclusively shared with The Independent, 69 per cent of people believe that Amazon needs to do more to address the concerns of its workers and think that the shopping site has become “too powerful”.