Mumbai (India), 6th May 2023: According to a workers’ organisation, Amazon has agreed to pay severance to hundreds of protesting workers at a warehouse site in Sonepat, Haryana. The workers, who were hired through a staffing agency, were laid off once the factory closed.
K K Niyogi of Amazon India Workers Association (AIWA.) said, “The uninterrupted mass protest at the gate of DEL-3 created a huge impact on workers and in political circles. The main employer was forced to accept the demands of the workers of DEL-3. It is a huge victory for workers of platform industries in India.”
With Amazon laying off on-the-job and off-the-job staff in many cities such as Pune and Bengaluru due to falling demand, unions have filed complaints with labour departments in various states in the recent months.
Amazon made a “voluntary separation” offer to select Indian employees on the Amazonian Experience and Technology team in November 2022.
Following a complaint by the employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) alleging a violation of labour regulations, the Labour Ministry summoned Amazon India’s public policy manager.
“The sudden closure of DEL-3, without alternative employment and without mandated legal and legitimate dues, left us no other option but to make a mass protest against the principal employer,” said Nidhi, a worker who participated in the DEL-3 protests.
However the union has finally won, Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union said, “These workers stood up to one of the most powerful companies in the world and won. This victory shows that when workers come together, they can make their voices heard and demand better treatment from their employers.”
