The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a report from the Union labour and employment ministry on allegations of anti-labour practices at one of the warehouses of e-commerce giant Amazon in Haryana’s Manesar.

According to a media report, a 24-year-old worker at the Manesar warehouse was asked to pledge that they would not take toilet or water breaks until they finished unloading packages from six trucks, each 24 feet long, after their team’s 30-minute tea break had ended.

In the news report, one of the workers, who works 10 hours a day for five days a week and earns ₹10,088 per month, stated that even if they worked continuously without breaks, including the 30-minute lunch and tea breaks, they could not unload more than four trucks per day.

A woman worker also claimed that she had to keep standing for nine hours daily and was required to evaluate 60 small products or 40 medium-sized products per hour during duty.

Reportedly, the multinational company has also encountered similar accusations internationally.

However, in its official release, the NHRC chose not to name Amazon, referring to it as a “multi-national” company instead.

NHRC spokesperson Jaimini Kumar said Amazon’s name was mentioned in the complaint copy displayed on the commission’s official website.

According to the NHRC, a female employee at the Manesar warehouse reportedly said that no restroom facilities were available at the working sites. It also referred to the labour associations in India, which have accused five warehouses in and around Manesar of violating regulations outlined in the Factories Act, 1948.

The commission observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raised a serious issue of violation of human rights, labour laws and the guidelines issued by the labour and employment ministry from time to time.

The commission issued a notice to the secretary in the labour and employment ministry, seeking a detailed report within one week.

The NHRC also noted that the government had been insisting on improving workers’ living standards. Apart from ensuring payment of minimum wages to the workers, government schemes have been introduced to provide social security for the labourers, including a safe working environment, safety gear in hazardous working conditions, medical insurance and free annual health check-ups.