Amazon Canada said it will hire 15,000 new employees this fall as part of its expansion plans.
Advocate says pay raise doesn’t make difference as firm cuts bonus program
Amazon Canada will hire 15,000 new warehouse and distribution staff with wage boosts on offer for front-line workers, the online retail giant announced Monday.
But the pay boost “really doesn’t make much of a difference,” said Warehouse Workers Centre organizer Gagandeep Kaur, because the company recently rescinded a bonus program that gave workers a monthly payout based on attendance and productivity.
Variable compensation pay, a bonus worth up to eight per cent of workers’ monthly salary, was eliminated at Canadian warehouses this August, according to internal communication obtained by the Star.
“Starting Aug. 29, your hourly pay rates will increase and VCP will end,” the memo says, noting that the decision is based on an “annual wage review process.”
New hourly wages will start at $17 and range up to $21.65 for experienced hires, the company said — an increase from the previous starting rate of around $16 an hour. In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Dave Bauer said the wage boosts will apply to seasonal hires, too.
Existing employees will also receive an additional $1.60 to $2.20 per hour, regardless of seniority, according to the company.
Amazon has not responded to the Star’s questions about the elimination of its bonus program.
The August memo says eliminating the program is part of “simplifying pay,” and says rate increases will equal the maximum bonus payouts for which workers were previously eligible.
The VCP payouts were eliminated in the company’s U.S. warehouses in 2018, when Amazon announced it was introducing a $15 minimum-wage policy.
According to recent Canadian job postings on the company’s website, starting rates for warehouses in the GTA begin at $18.20 an hour, higher than openings in other parts of the country. The jobs are a mix of seasonal and permanent positions, with the company offering a $100 bonus for those with proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
Kaur said while the e-commerce giant’s wages and benefits package for permanent workers compare favourably to other warehouses in the region, rates are still “not enough to make ends meet.”
“Affordability is becoming such a problem, especially here in (Peel) region.”
Jason Sweet, president of Mississauga-based union local Teamsters 419, said Monday’s pay boost comes as the company “feels the heat” of a continent-wide unionization effort at Amazon warehouses.
“Workers also know that the raises announced by Amazon cover only a small part of their demands. Only unionization can really improve their working conditions,” he said in a statement. “Our campaign continues for Amazon employees.”
Amazon’s profit has soared during the pandemic, and was up some 220 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
Working conditions at the company’s warehouses and among delivery drivers are under increasing scrutiny. Last year, a Star investigation found a large proportion of injuries at the company’s warehouses were caused by overexertion and repetitive motion, with workers complaining of untenable productivity quotas and limited ability to take breaks.
While the company initially suspended disciplinary action against slow performers as a pandemic precaution, it later reinstated the policy and eliminated a $2-an-hour hero pay bump.
In California, lawmakers are considering new legislation that takes aim at productivity quotas. Last week, the state senate passed a landmark bill that imposes limits on the practice.
If the bill becomes law, warehouses in California will be required to disclose productivity quotas to workers and government agencies. Companies will also be banned from implementing quotas that prevent them from taking meal and bathroom breaks.
“We definitely need to do the same here, because our workers here are facing the same problem,” said Kaur. “These jobs could be so much better if a few things could change.”
The pandemic has also shone a spotlight on working conditions at Amazon and the broader warehouse sector, where there is low union density and median wages sit at $18 in the GTA.
Records obtained through a Freedom-of-Information request show Amazon, which employs thousands of warehouse workers in Brampton and Mississauga, had the largest number of COVID-19 cases of any employer in Peel region last year.
This March, public health authorities imposed mandatory shift closures at one facility after 617 of Heritage Road’s 5,000 workers tested positive for the virus.
Amazon has previously said its COVID rates fell below community transmission levels and that it is one of few employers to conduct multiple rounds of mass testing, leading to higher case counts than other workplaces. It also says it has implemented strict safety measures and invested $45 million in precautions against the virus.
Kaur said the company’s financial success is “all possible because of the hard work of workers.”
“They are the backbone of this industry,” she said. “They need respect.”