On Thursday, February 14, German public broadcaster ARD telecast a 30-minute documentary in which it highlighted the deplorable labour conditions at inline retail giant Amazon's subsidiaries in Germany.

For compiling the documentary, the film-makers examined the living and working conditions of thousands of Amazon's temporary workers hired from all across Europe. These workers - who were employed to pack boxes at Amazon's distribution centers in Germany during the Christmas rush - were allegedly watched over and intimidated by omnipresent security guards attired in Nazi-style clothes and jackboots.

According to the documentary, the temporary workers at Amazon's German distribution centers are live in cramped houses; and are required to work 15 days in a row. They walk up to 17km every day in the massive warehouses, and the salary that they get is much less than they had originally been promised before they came to work in Germany from their home countries.

The documentary also revealed that hardly any of the temporary workers have any contracts signed with Amazon. They have been hired by temporary work companies on behalf of Amazon; and they can be thrown out of job any time.

Meanwhile, about the alleged high-handedness of the `neo-Nazi' security guards at Amazon's seven distribution centres in Germany, the company said in response to the documentary that it had not contracted the security firm; and added: "We are currently examining the allegations concerning the behaviour of security guards and will take the appropriate measures immediately."