In the US, employees of the online retail giant Amazon demonstrated against inadequate protection against coronavirus infections while at work. Between 50 and 60 workers joined a rally in front of an Amazon warehouse in New York. The company itself said only 15 people took part.
The demonstrators called for the building to be closed and disinfected after an employee there tested positive for CoV.
Organizer fired
After the protests, their organizer, Christian Smalls, was sacked by Amazon. Smalls had written in the short message service Twitter that thousands of Amazon employees in the buildings of the online giant were infected with the corona virus.
Amazon described the allegations as “misleading” and asserted that management had taken “extreme” measures to protect its employees from the pandemic. Amazon justified the dismissal of Smalls with his participation in the protest in New York, although his employer had asked him to quarantine at home. Smalls had previously had contact with an infected person and endangered the other demonstrators by participating.
Follow-up for Amazon
New York Attorney General Letitia James called Amazon’s actions “shameful”. She announced the examination of legal steps. James also called the National Labor Relations Board to investigate. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he had ordered an investigation into the incident by the city’s human rights officer.
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