Crowded work spaces, limited access to paid sick days, and confusion over quarantine leave.

Those are the conditions described to the Star by three workers at Amazon warehouses in the GTA — conditions that one employee is concerned could raise broader health risks, as demand for online deliveries surges amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A petition began circulating late Tuesday night calling on the international delivery giant Amazon to ramp up safety measures at its Toronto-area fulfilment centres.

“Social distancing is nearly impossible in a facility of hundreds to thousands of employees,” the petition spearheaded by the Brampton-based Warehouse Workers’ Centre says.

“Because the number of orders to be fulfilled has drastically increased as people stay home, warehouse workers are putting in 50 hours a week or more. This is unsustainable and needs to stop.”

In response to specific questions about health and safety in GTA warehouses, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement that the company was “going to great lengths to keep the buildings extremely clean and help employees practise important precautions such as social distancing and other measures.”

“Those who don’t want to come to work are welcome to use paid and unpaid time off options and we support them in doing so,” the spokesperson added.

“We believe direct communication is the best avenue to discuss feedback, and our teams on-site are speaking directly with employees to hear their questions and discuss options that are available in this ever-changing environment.”

The company is also increasing pay for Canadian employees by $2 an hour.

The Star spoke to two employees at an Amazon fulfilment centre in the GTA on the condition of anonymity, since both feared reprisal for speaking to the media.

They said they were deeply concerned about health and safety at a warehouse that employs around 2,000 people.

The two employees said lunch rooms were packed last week and daily departmental meetings of 200 or more employees continued despite public health guidance on how to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Late last week, Ontario’s chief medical officer called for an immediate suspension of gatherings of 250 or more people.

One worker said they were concerned the conditions posted broader health risks.

“It’s not even just about the employees that work there,” they told the Star.

A third employee at a separate Amazon fulfilment centre said departmental meetings at their GTA-area facility continued until this Monday, and were only cancelled Tuesday. The worker shared photos with the Star of the warehouse’s lunchroom packed with at least 200 workers Monday, and employees working in close proximity on the warehouse floor Tuesday.

“They were offering a lot of voluntary time off up until a week and a half ago, now they’re offering extra (over) time,” the employee said.

“Basically I think the place should close or reduce hours.”

In a general press release issued earlier this week, Amazon said it had implemented a number of preventative health measures and “enhanced our daily cleaning procedures and are implementing additional nightly cleaning.”

Amazon has several fulfilment centres in the GTA, and employs around 10,000 people across the country.

All three employees interviewed by the Star expressed concern that workers had not been provided with masks. In the photos shared with the Star, workers did not appear to be wearing masks on the warehouse floor. Amazon said it provides masks to employees who fall ill and need to go home.

(The World Health Organization recommends using a mask if you are caring for sick relatives or are coughing or sneezing. Public Health Ontario currently only recommends the use of masks for those who are self isolating or are caring for someone with coronavirus. )

An employee at one Amazon facility said extra Lysol wipes were available to workers.

To cope with surging demand, two employees said their facility had recently hired more “white badge” — or temporary — staff who do not have paid sick days.

Blue badge, or permanent warehouse employees, accrue 40 hours — or four work days, they work 10-hour shifts — of paid sick time off a year.

“We haven’t even gotten that because it accumulates slowly,” one employee told the Star.

“If Amazon workers don’t have fully paid leave, it means they can’t feed their families or pay their bills. This means that workers either come in sick, or isolate themselves without pay,” the petition says.

Amazon’s press release said it was continuing to “educate employees on (Centers for Disease Control) guidance for maintaining healthy habits, and are offering flexibility for employees who need to stay home, plus paid time off for those who are diagnosed with the virus.”

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Although Amazon has offered quarantined workers two weeks paid leave, two employees interviewed by the Star said they hadn’t been told whether that applied to workers who should self-isolate based on public health guidelines.

The Star viewed employee group chats and internal emails in which workers raised concerns — with each other and management.

One message urged fellow workers not to go to work, especially in areas where they were “packed like sardines.”

“Everyone is scared,” says another message.

The press release Amazon issued this week said the company is “opening 100,000 new roles to support people relying on Amazon’s service in this stressful time.” It did not say how many new roles have been created in Canada.

“We deeply value our employees and partners around the world as they continue to come to work and serve the people in their communities in a way that very few can — delivering critical supplies directly to the doorsteps of people who need them,” an Amazon spokesperson told the Star.

Gagandeep Kaur, a postal worker and organizer with the Warehouse Workers Centre in Brampton, said additional hiring may meet consumer demand — but was the “opposite” of official guidance about the importance of social distancing.

“As customers we only interact with the platform, but the labour that goes into delivering the package tends to be hidden,” said Alessandro Delfanti, who studies digital labour and is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

“We should really pay attention ... It’s a very physical job, with hundreds of people concentrated in one single workplace.”

The warehouse sector employs almost 30,000 people in the GTA and is essential to the country’s supply chain management. But the work is often low-wage or precarious. The median hourly wage for a warehouse worker in Toronto was $18.39 in 2018, and only 12 per cent of employees in the sector are unionized.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers recently set up the Warehouse Workers Centre in Brampton to offer training and support. (The meeting space is currently closed due to COVID-19 concerns).

“Warehouses in general, the jobs are not very high paying jobs,” said Kaur. “(Premier) Doug Ford has come out and said you won’t be losing your job if you are in quarantine or if you are not well, and you don’t need a sick note. But what about the workers who cannot really afford to stay home?”

In a letter to the Ford government Tuesday, Ontario Federation of Labour head Patty Coates called on the province to offer 21 paid sick days, including 14 paid days of quarantine leave, to all workers.

A similar petition to the one launched in Toronto by the Warehouse Workers’ Centre has already circulated in the United States and Europe — calling on Amazon to take more precautions at its fulfilment centres. Three Amazon workers have tested positive for COVID-19 in Spain, according to local news reports, and one in Italy.

The Star interviewed a worker at the Castel San Giovanni fulfilment centre in Italy; the worker said Amazon employees there are calling for a strike over health and safety concerns.

The worker, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal but provided proof of employment with Amazon, said he believed the company’s warehouses should be processing orders for essential goods only.

And he urged Toronto workers to put their own health first — having watched COVID-19 devastate his home region in Italy.

“You’re about three weeks behind the spreading of the virus compared to (Italy)” he said.

“I hope in Canada it doesn’t get as bad as it did here.”

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