Amazon is being accused of silencing employees from speaking out over the online retailer's measures to protect workers from coronavirus. This comes at a time when COVID-19 lockdown orders have put severe stress on the company's supply and delivery chain.
While most companies can afford for their staff to work from home, this is not possible for some firms. Amazon has become a company that many people are depending on more than ever to deliver both essential and non-essential items. Ever since the beginning of the coronavirus-related restrictions, the e-commerce giant has seen a huge increase in shopping orders, and has been exploring different ways to handle the surge in demand. While this has pushed the company to hire thousands of new workers to bolster its workforce, keeping the business fully operational is causing concern for Amazon employees, who are now risking infection to do their job.
The last few weeks have seen protests by workers accusing Amazon of forcing them to work in unsafe conditions. However, the company has responded by allegedly attempting to suppress the protests. Reported by ComputerWeekly, the latest accusation revolves around the company attempting to shut down an online meeting of employees attended by Amazon tech workers, as well as author and activist, Naomi Klein. Organized by the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ), the meeting discussed the company's inadequate protections against the virus. The campaign group claims that Amazon tried to stop the meeting by deleting the event invitation from the calendars of thousands of employees.
Amazon's War Against Coronavirus, Workers & Unions
Those who took part in the AECJ meeting raised several concerns, like how the company is not disclosing who has come in contact with infected workers, or how warehouse workers have not been provided with sufficient protective gear. In addition, how the company is still allowing the shipment of non-essential items even though a number of Amazon warehouses across the US have confirmed COVID-19 cases (and at least one death).
Amazon is not adverse to taking a tough stance on unionization and worker protests, with the reported firing of workers involved in organizing strikes and speaking out against the company's current work policies. This began in the US with the dismissal of Chris Smalls, the organizer of the first strike at Amazon's Staten Island warehouse. While the company defended it as a dismissal for violation of social distancing guidelines (after the worker came in contact with an infected colleague), prominent progressive figures, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Klein, have slammed the company for the action. Amazon also fired AECJ campaign group leaders Maren Costa and Emily Cunningham, after they openly lambasted Amazon's treatment of warehouse workers during the pandemic.
The retail giant hasn't had the same success in curbing protests everywhere. For example, as the BBC reports, a court in France ruled that the company will incur heavy fines if it doesn't stop selling non-essential items soon and this prompted Amazon to shut down its warehouses in the country while it awaits the result of an appeal. While the ruling showed that the company can be held accountable, Amazon's reaction equally proves how far the firm will go when pushed.
Source: ComputerWeekly, BBC