Amazon hit by fresh allegations of ruthless working conditions

Amazon has faced a string of workplace complaints. Picture /AP

A UK mum of four has made fresh allegations about Amazon's ruthless workplace conditions.

Christina Vango told The Mirror she and several other nightshift workers had recently been let go by the retailer at midnight, claiming some colleagues had been forced to wait for six hours in the freezing cold for a bus home.

Vango was let go from her job as a packer around midnight on January 3, in the middle of the brutal English winter.

The 39-year-old claimed the sacking occurred halfway through her shift at the Tilbury, Essex warehouse and that it came without warning.

"It's disgusting. We still had nearly a month of our contracts left but rumours had been flying around," she said.

"Everyone was nervous but our managers said we had nothing to worry about.

"Ten minutes later, halfway through the shift, they tapped me on the shoulder and took me into a room with other staff."

Vango started working at the warehouse in October last year via the PMP employment agency.

After being let go, Vango said she had managed to walk the 25-minute journey home.

But she said several of her colleagues who lived further away had no option but to "walk the streets" in the cold until buses and trains started running again at 6am.

The average minimum night time temperature in January in Tilbury is just three degrees.

Vango's partner Charlie Smith, who also worked at the warehouse on a temporary contract, was also let go the day after Vango.

However, while Vango claimed the staff members were left stranded overnight, an Amazon spokesman told The Mirror her claims contradicted the company's policies.

"Temporary associates help manage variation in demand over Christmas and are aware when they start that their assignment will finish at the end of the festive period," the spokesman said.

"If a shift ends when public transport is not available we always offer to provide bus or taxi transport."

Vango's allegations are just the latest in a string of workplace complaints linked to the online retail giant.

On December 28, an Amazon courier claimed he was robbed while on duty in Coventry, England, sacked and then told the cost of the van repairs and stolen packages would be taken out of his wages.

In December, the Sunday Mirror reported that Amazon drivers were told to deliver up to 200 packages a day for less than minimum wage.

The paper's investigation allegedly revealed drivers worked shifts that routinely exceeded the UK's maximum legal limit of 11 hours, with some drivers claiming they were forced to urinate in plastic bottles in order to keep up with the delivery demand.