Amazon Company and Immigrant Workers

Amazon Company and Immigrant Workers

Employment Act, section 41, and the Industrial Training Act outlines the process of lawful and ethical termination of workers contract. Wright & Clibborn (2019) noted that under federal law, it is unlawful and unethical to terminate employees based on national origin or race. Currently, Amazon was reported to have acted to the contrary terminating based on national origin. One of the largest employers is Amazon Company having 566,000 workers across the globe in 2017. According to CBC News, the number increased rapidly to 575,000 by October 2018, inclusive of full time and part-time workers (CBC, 2019). Among the 750,000 employees in Amazon Canada, 25,000 are immigrants. Recently, CBC News reported that almost half of the immigrant workers were terminated for trying to form their worker’s union (CBC, 2019). Amazon’s action to downsize immigrant employees has raised many questions and has resulted in controversies on workers’ rights. Immigrant worker’s rights have now become the center of discussion in Canada to find a permanent solution to migrant’s problems (Compa, 2017). In this discussion, I wish to use various sources and media news to analyze Amazon Company in detail to understand how they terminate migrant employees. The purpose of this article is to examine discrimination and harassment of migrant workers, low wages below the minimum wage rate, workers’ compensation, and termination of contracts.

Borges (2018) acknowledge that workers have rights that should be respected by all employers. There are international legislations outlined under the labor laws that solve any disputes between employers and employees (Boucher, 2019). In case of any disagreements, all the parties involved are supposed to follow the rules and regulations to avoid violation of labor rights. Dias-Abey & Banks (2019) point out that cases of work termination based on race, nationality, age, color, disability, and sex are increasing at an alarming rate. Canada is not excepted as it hosts some of the largest companies in the world, such as Amazon, Toyota, Walmart, and many others. According to the New York Times, the Canadian labor market is full of discrimination and oppression based on nationality and race (New York Times: Foreign workers in Canada, n.d). With the migrant workers and natives being the most affected in the country.  A recent news report from the New York Times reveals that foreign farmworkers in Canada fear deportation if they complain of their mistreatments. The news from Summerland in British Colombia reports how workers fear to complain about their grievances because they might be fired. It also highlights similar cases in Mexico, where workers fear filling complaints about fears of being terminated (Kiseleva, Osipova & Emelianova, 2018). The emergence of oppression of migrant workers has brought the attention of advocacy groups such as the International Labor Organization and the United Nations. International Labor Organization (n.d) points out that the advocacy groups have provided statistics concerning migrants children, examines their rights and educational progress, and fighting for the rights of labor and the migrant’s people.

Labor rights are part of human rights that deserves to be respected (Weiler, 2018). Codified in international law and Canadian labor legislation, the rules define the relationship between employers and employees influencing working conditions. Dias-Abey & Banks (2019) points out that the issues of equity and dignity for radicalized migrant workers require deep and critical analysis. In this discussion, the paper focuses on the rights of the workers from less affluent countries that provide low wages for workers. Through Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, this commentary address issues of low wages, worker oppression,, and migrant discrimination. It discusses five federal policy interventions to help migrant workers get justice and fair treatment in the labor force.

References

Borges, D. D. (2018). Will the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court reinstate the Convention no. 158 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in the Brazilian legal order? On a possible turnaround, through international law, of Brazilian labor laws. Brazilian Journal of International Law, 138-163.

Boucher, A. (2019). Measuring migrant worker rights violations in practice: The example of temporary skilled visas in Australia. Journal of Industrial Relations, 61(2), 277-301.

CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/amazon-canada-labour-complaint-1.4998744

Compa, L. (2017). Migrant Workers in the United States: Connecting Domestic Law with International Labor Standards. Chi.-Kent L. Rev., 92, 211.

Dias-Abey, M., & Banks, K. (2019). Migrant Workers: Contesting Definitions, Institutional Responses, and Rights. International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, 35(2), 153-161.

International Labor Organization: Migrant Workers Empowerment and Advocacy (MWEA project); https://www.ilo.org/asia/projects/WCMS_596065/lang–en/index.htm

Kiseleva, E., Osipova, M., & Emelianova, N. (2018, June). The Right to Education for Migrant Children in Light of the Latest General Comments by the UN Treaty Bodies. In 2018 2nd International Conference on Management, Education, and Social Science (ICMESS 2018). Atlantis Press.

New York Times: Foreign workers in Canada: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/13/world/canada/canada-migrants-temporary-farmworkers-program.html

Weiler, A. M. (2018). A food policy for Canada, but not just for Canadians: Reaping justice for migrant farmworkers. Canadian Food Studies/La Revue canadienne des études sur l’alimentation, 5(3), 279-284.

Wright, C. F., & Clibborn, S. (2019). Migrant labor and low-quality work: A persistent relationship. Journal of Industrial Relations, 61(2), 157-175.