Ujjwal Kumar
e-commerce Site Amazon Accused Of Harassing Its Workers. (Image Courtesy: amazon.in)
The e-commerce giant Amazon has been accused of preventing workers from hanging a sign in support of the union when the workers were in non-working time and a place not associated with work Amazon. The Amazon Labour Union in their complaint filed at the NLRB (National Labour Regulatory Board) has accused Amazon of selectively enforcing the solicitation rule on workers which deals with a set of activities an employee is expected to do during working as well as non-working hours. The e-commerce giant is yet to file its defence on the matter.
Union’s Allegations
The union has said that the e-commerce giant was particularly harsh towards the workers who put- up posters in support of the Union. The union has alleged discrimination on part of Amazon in applying the solicitation rule. The union also claims that their attempt to vote for coming together in a union failed because of the policies and tactics used to terrorize workers. The decision to file the complaint with the regulatory body NLRB was taken, after the attempt to unionize failed.
Motivation Behind Coming Together
Employees’ decision to come together in a union was encouraged by the successful unionization of workers at the JFK8 fulfilment centre of the e-commerce giant. According to reports the e-commerce giant despite its objections could not stop their coming together. The NLRB which heard the matter dismissed the e-commerce giant’s objection saying its objection is not substantive.
According to reports, if the e-commerce giant is unable to file its defence by the fourth of the coming month, it would be forced to eat a humble pie and take down its set of rules elaborating on what workers can and cannot do at a place of work and a non-working place at Amazon. Amazon’s failure to respond within the given time frame would also enable the labour board to file a motion for default judgment.
Amazon’s Response
Reports suggest that in case the e-commerce site fails to prove that it is innocent in front of the regulatory body, it would have to roll back its solicitation rules. An Amazon representative in a statement has said that the union allegation is devoid of merit. The representative further added that the e-commerce site is looking to deal with it legally.
Amazon spokesman Paul Flaningan in a statement said”These allegations are completely without merit and we look forward to showing that through the process.”