Workers in the home delivery business were already facing precarious labor conditions before the COVID-19 pandemic. A lack of basic protections for ‘gig economy’ workers in warehouses and home delivery roles has taken on a new urgency as the very workers who ensure that food, medicines, and other essential goods are shipped out on time and delivered to your door are exposed to greater risks to their own health and safety.
Amnesty’s new global campaign calls on the most powerful companies in the home delivery sector, starting with Amazon, to guarantee the rights of workers, including health, safety, and labor rights, such as the right to join a union.
Why Amazon?
Since the start of the pandemic, Amazon has become the most used consumer-facing platform in the world, delivering essential goods, in some case partnering with governments for the delivery of COVID-19 test kits for frontline workers, such as the UK, protective personal equipment (PPE) to health authorities, hospitals and other government agencies, such as in Canada, as well and non-essential goods to people’s homes.
Amazon has done very well for itself since the start of the pandemic, seeing its profits soar over the last eight months. And yet, the company’s COVID-19 response has been plagued by scandals in relation to its treatment of workers. In most of the locations where it operates, Amazon faces allegations of union busting, treating its workers like machines and recklessness towards their health and safety.
Workers’ right to unionize is a human right. Respecting this right is an obligation, not a choice. Amazon should know better!
For the next 4 weeks, join Amnesty International in calling on Amazon to protect the health and safety of workers and to respect their labour rights.
Public statement: It is time for Amazon to respect workers’ right to unionize
For more information, please contact our Business and Human Rights team: bhr@amnesty.ca
