'Unacceptable': France accuses Amazon of pressurizing workers amid coronavirus scare

France has reportedly accused American multinational technology company, Amazon for placing an “unacceptable” pressure on employees after unions claimed that the retailer would not pay the workers who refuse to go to work due to the fear of contracting the deadly coronavirus. In a radio interview, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Marie not only denounced Amazon for ‘coercing’ the workers but also added that the government is “going to make sure Amazon knows this”. 

According to an international news agency, about 200 of the total 1,700 employees at Amazon’s distribution centre near Douai in northern France had refused to go to work on March 17, instead, exercised their “right to refusal” in the country’s labour code if an employee considered there is a health and/or safety risks attached to it. The union sources have reportedly also said that nearly half of the workers also walked out on March 18 at Amazon’s Montelimar facility in the southeast part of the country. The sources reportedly added that the management of the company had indicated its employees would not be paid as the death toll due to coronavirus reaches 372 and has infected over 10,900 people in France. 

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Strict confinement measures in France

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak which has now spread at least 180 countries now, the French government had announced strict confinement measures that started on March 17. Under these precautionary steps, the workers are now only allowed to go to the office if their employers cannot practice telecommunication while keeping in mind that the special contagion management measures are in place. However, according to unions, Amazon has failed to ensure that employees can remain at least one metre away from each other in order to maintain social distance. 

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It has also been reported that the company does not have a sufficient supply of hand gels and sanitizers to help the workers maintain hygiene. A CGT union official at the Montelimar site, Guillaume Reynaud has said that in some places it is “impossible” to maintain a safe distance in order to prevent the fatal COVID-19 from the further spread, especially in changing rooms.

However, Amazon has made the claims by the unions, controversial by saying that it has reinforced cleaning measures and has even taken steps, “so that employees can keep a necessary distance from one another”. The company further said in a statement that it is “strictly following government’s recommendations and directives”. The US-based company has reportedly seen a hike in orders in France along with other countries as millions are being confined only to their homes while the world battles the deadly coronavirus outbreak since it originated in the Chinese province of Wuhan in December 2019.

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(With agency inputs)