Amazon has sought to discredit reports that employees have been forced to urinate in plastic bottles as a result of gruelling labour practices, claiming that “nobody would work for us” if it were true.

Such allegations about the internet giant were reportedly among more than 600 complaints lodged with the UK government’s Health and Safety Executive in the four years to 2019, which also included claims of pregnant women being forced to stand for hours on end or being eyed for dismissal.

They were brought to the wider public’s attention by the GMB union two years ago as workers protested outside the company’s so-called fulfilment centres across the UK to demand improvement in workers’ conditions and call on the company to pay a “real and substantial” tax contribution.

Dismissed by Amazon as “misinformation” at the time, the allegations came to the fore again on Wednesday after the company’s chief executive Dave Clark attempted mock two-time US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders in response to the news the Vermont senator would meet with Amazon workers in Alabama launching a historic bid to unionise.

Management figures at the Alabama sorting warehouse are said to be seeking to stymie the looming 5,800-strong vote for what could be the largest unionisation bid in the company’s history by pressuring employees with “anti-union” messages in bathroom stalls and in text messages to workers’ phones.

Amid accusations, rejected by Amazon, that the company is “acting like they’re under attack”, Mr Clark “welcomed” Mr Sanders to Birmingham in a combative statement posted to Twitter.

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“I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that’s not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace for our constituents: a $15 minimum wage, health care from day one, career progression, and a safe and inclusive work environment,” Mr Clark continued.

“So if you want to hear about $15 an hour and health care, Senator Sanders will be speaking downtown. But if you would like to make at least $15 an hour and have good health care, Amazon is hiring.”

Mr Clark’s comments were largely ill-received on social media, and notably drew the ire of Wisconsin representative Mark Pocan, who wrote on Twitter: “Paying workers $15/hr doesn’t make you a ‘progressive workplace’ when you union-bust and make workers urinate in water bottles.”

On Thursday, a response came from the official Amazon News account, saying: “You don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you?

“If that were true, nobody would work for us.

“The truth is that we have over a million incredible employees around the world who are proud of what they do, and have great wages and health care from day one.”

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The response came under some heavy criticism, notably from James Bloodworth, author of Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain, who said: “I was the person who found the pee in the bottle. Trust me, it happened.”

“Look at the stat and reconsider the context,” he added, citing a 2018 survey by workers’ rights platform Organise suggesting that 74 per cent of Amazon warehouse employees in the UK were reticent to go to the toilet during their shifts due to fear of missing productivity targets.

Also reacting to Amazon’s claim, Tim Leach, a novelist and assistant professor at Warwick University, said: “Of course, makes total sense. After all, no one in human history has ever stayed in a job they hated or that was horrible because they felt financially trapped and feared the consequences of quitting.”

Meanwhile, in Alabama – where the vote on whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union could set off ripple effects across the US – more than a dozen Democratic state politicians have signed a letter supporting workers’ efforts.

“Unions give workers a powerful vehicle to protect themselves from dangerous working conditions, exploitation, and unfair pay,” their letter reads. “We stand with the Amazon workers in Bessemer, fighting to create a better life for themselves and workers everywhere. Your courage is inspiring, and your campaign is important: What happens in Alabama affects the entire nation.”

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