After employees denounced the poor working conditions at Amazon, the Quebec Solidaire party called on Labor Minister Jean Boulet to launch an investigation into the practices of the American giant on Quebec soil.
“It worries me to see that a company that is so popular in Quebec does not care too much about the health and safety of its employees,” Hochelaga deputy Alexandre Leduc said in an interview with the Journal.
Mr Leduc therefore on Wednesday sent a letter to Labor Minister Jean Boulet to urge him to investigate Amazon and to urge the Commission on Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) to do the same.
About ten days ago, Amazon employees and ex-employees in Montreal went public to denounce the “hellish” pace of work they were subjected to.
Some people said they suffered reprisals after appealing to CNESST.
“There seems to be an organized system that doesn’t care about employee health and safety. They have their own healthcare system with an in-house nurse or doctor and it doesn’t require you to report your accident at work,” recalls Mr Leduc.
These revelations join the facts reported by our investigative office in the documentary L’envers d’Amazon published in June 2021.
These allegations have all been denied by the American giant.
organize campaign
“Amazon workers are wage slaves,” David Bergeron-Cyr, vice president of the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN), said ten days ago.
This union has been trying to organize workers at the Amazon warehouse in Lachine since last spring. According to CSN, Amazon uses illegal practices to curb union formation, particularly through intimidation.
“Quebec law applies to all companies that do business with us, whether based in Quebec or Seattle,” the member for Hochelaga recalled in his letter.
Minister Boulet is obliged to launch an inquiry into the allegations and should not wait for the end of the union campaign to act, believes Mr Leduc.
“Investigations are essential. We have to get a real picture of the situation and if the investigation gives questionable results, I hope that the minister will take it up and impose sanctions,” says the MP.
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