Amazon to Face Legal Action After Layoffs in Quebec
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Amazon.com Inc.’s decision to close all seven of its warehouses in the Canadian province of Quebec and terminate more than 1,900 workers is prompting legal action from the affected union.
The Federation of National Trade Unions will petition a court to annul the layoffs and order the reopening of the warehouses. It will also ask for payment of compensation and damages, the union said in a statement Feb. 4.
Amazon.com Inc. ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics carriers in North America, No. 12 on the TT100 list of the largest private carriers and No. 1 on the Top 50 Global Freight list.
Amazon is in the process of laying off employees in the French-speaking province, and will cut ties with more than 2,600 others who work with delivery partners, according to Quebec’s employment ministry. The online retailer will use subcontractors, such as Montreal-based Intelcom Courrier Canada Inc., instead.
“What it calls its ‘new business model’ is just an attempt to circumvent its obligations under the Labour Code,” Federation President Caroline Senneville said in the statement. “The court should recognize that this scheme violates the law and it can then order the reinstatement of Amazon’s workers.”
The union had been negotiating with Amazon since July to create a collective agreement for 300 employees at a warehouse in Laval, a suburb of Montreal. The closures were announced on Jan. 22, less than a year after the Laval workers unionized. Amazon said at the time that the decision was not related to the unionization effort. The company did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Feb. 4.
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The union also launched a campaign calling on consumers to boycott the multinational by not shopping on its online platform and canceling Amazon Prime subscriptions.
Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s industry minister, said in January that Amazon’s decision is unacceptable, and called for a review of the business relationship between the company and the Canadian government.
Amazon has 1.55 million employees worldwide. Many of their warehouse workers in Europe are covered by sectoral bargaining agreements. Employees at facilities in New York and Philadelphia have unionized, but still lack a contract.
