Oxfam America has filed a complaint against Amazon alleging that it breached sections of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct by shutting down its Quebec distribution network.
The closure came after Amazon’s DXT4 warehouse in Laval unionized. Oxfam-Québec and the Confédération des syndicats nationaux supported Oxfam America’s complaint, which said that both organizations sought a review of Amazon’s OECD guideline compliance “in light of the company's union suppression efforts, refusal to engage in collective bargaining, and mass termination of workers shortly after the formation of the company's first Canadian union.”
Last year, Québec's Administrative Labour Tribunal criticized Amazon for its active obstruction of a unionization drive at its Lachine-based YUL2 plant. The company also implemented an anti-union campaign at the Laval DXT4 warehouse.
On January 22, Amazon closed its seven warehouses in Québec, disregarding its obligation to negotiate with the new union at the DXT4 warehouse according to the complaint. Over 4,500 jobs were eliminated and 1,700 employees furloughed in the process.
Oxfam and CSN contended that Amazon’s conduct violated chapters II, IV and V of the OECD Guidelines by restricting the right to organize, the right to bargain collectively, and the right not to be subjected to threats or retaliation for exercising those rights.
“The OECD Guidelines were put in place so that multinationals could be held accountable if they violate workers' rights. This is precisely what Amazon did when it closed its warehouses and laid off 1,700 employees to avoid being forced to respect their right to organize and bargain collectively,” said Caroline Senneville, CSN’s president, in a statement.
Oxfam-Québec’s executive director, Béatrice Vaugrante, added that Amazon’s decision to suddenly close down its warehouses in the province were “consistent with longstanding concerns that our colleagues at Oxfam America have been raising for years about Amazon: low wages, restriction of workers' freedom of expression and harmful surveillance practices.”
“These recent moves exacerbate inequalities and harm workers in Québec and elsewhere. The economies of Québec and Canada can be strong only if workers' fundamental right to organize is respected. This complaint is a necessary step towards accountability,” Vaugrante said.
The complaint urged OECD to order Amazon’s entry into a mediation process. Its main goals are to reinstate the 1,700 employees laid off, to pay each employee a year’s salary as compensation, and to secure a guarantee from Amazon that it would honor its duty to respect human rights in line with chapter IV of the guidelines.
CSN represents the unionized Amazon employees.