“Tell us why, show us how; look where you come from and where you are now ». These are some verses of the ironic song that the American comedian Bo Burnham dedicated to Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, who has monopolized social media for weeks. Well, in a few days even Vicenza will be able to concretely feel the presence of Bezos, after the opening of the new logistics center in Viale della Serenissima.
The start-up of this center, that of Dese nel Veneziano and that of Treviso accompany the Veneto into a new era for the transport sector. A “new wave” that risks starting off on the wrong foot: a transfer letter was delivered to 160 of the 400 drivers employed in the logistics center of Vigonza, in the Padua area, with the communication of the transfer to the Vicenza and Dese hubs.
The trade unions intervened immediately and asked Assoespressi, the national association of express couriers, last mile and e-commerce, to freeze the transfers. If the answer is no, the unions are ready to mobilize.
«Amazon is opening two poles between Vicenza and Dese – explains Samuela Benvegnù of Uil Trasporti – It is not clear why it is so simple for this entity to open companies. Okay because they are jobs but how they manage them is another matter. There is a national table that has signed an agreement with Amazon after all the protests also for the way in which industrial relations are managed. In Veneto there is an open dispute with the companies that manage Amazon’s indirect workers. It was a table with several meetings and which was then placed side by side with a national table. The issue is proceeding on two tracks, the national one and the one on the territory, we have been managing it for a while. Social partners were not initially involved but a transfer letter arrived. We asked for a meeting in which we put forward specific requests regarding the protection of workers, who are not parcels but people, and cannot be managed only from a commercial point of view. If we manage to have a civil discussion table with respect for the parties, which opens up a different perspective with the circulation of personnel, including inter-company, good. Otherwise we are ready to mobilize. We want workers to have an active part, because it is not possible to uproot them from a stable family situation and from a site that has been open for a few years. We work with a unified position on all territories and with all the acronyms ». Giovanni Mannozzi of Fit Cisl explains: «I know that there is a company that is practicing in Verona and that it should leave in Vicenza in the next few days with about forty workers. The opening of an Amazon center that brings work is also positive because a framework contract has been signed from which to start. All these drivers are part of firms that organize the work. It will be necessary to outline an agreement to regulate all contractual arrangements, such as travel allowances, the days paid even in the absence of goods to be delivered but also to open a debate on the requests for exemptions that these companies have advanced. They are all start-ups – concludes Mannozzi – which have requested exceptions on the number of fixed times and part times on an experimental basis ». For its part, Assoespressi prefers not to intervene on the issue, referring directly to Amazon. The Seattle giant, contacted, did not respond.
The municipal administration of Vicenza refrains from any comment about the policies implemented by a private company such as Amazon regarding employment relationships: “We had a problem relating to the abandonment of a degraded area in which there were also works to complete as the road – recalls the mayor Francesco Rucco – The project that has been proposed to us includes modern, technological and environmentally friendly buildings. Many of the vehicles used will also be electric and there will also be numerous charging stations and public parking. In short, we acted following the logic of regenerating an area. Then, yes, we were told about hiring – admits the mayor – but we cannot enter into the merits of company policies by a private individual ».
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