Catalan government to fine Amazon €3m for subcontracting workers
Labour Inspectorate also proposes a €2.6m sanction for the 17 companies that transferred 559 employees to the multinational company
BarcelonaCatalonia's Labour Inspectorate has proposed a €3.2m fine for Amazon and a €2.6m fine for 17 companies subcontracted by the multinational, six of which are temporary employment agencies, for illegal transfer of workers. As reported on Thursday by the Department of Enterprise and Employment in a statement, it was found the companies had ceded 559 employees who worked in worse conditions than they would be entitled to had they been hired directly by Amazon.
The companies can now present allegations, which will be resolved by the labor authority. The inspectors' investigations were launched in February in Barcelona and concluded that at least 559 people were doing delivery work in a situation of "labour precariousness", mainly related to salary and job instability. In addition, these workers had no legal representation through a works council.
The companies subcontracted by Amazon in Barcelona that the Generalitat proposes to fine are Tipsa Delivery, Ara Vinc, Internet Commerce Solutions, Transportcat Logistics, Delivery Asap, Travieso Logistics, Cacao Logistics, Jom Servicios Intergrales, Anem Advanced Logistics, Gal Kajol and Duende Logistics. On the other hand, the list of temporary employment agencies that Amazon used and that the Inspectorate is also considering fining are JT Hiring ETT (the parent company of the unicorn temporary employment unicorn Jobandtalent), GI Group Spain ETT, Temporal Quality, Iman Temporing, Randstad Empleo and Rhone Alpes Servicios España.
Subcontracting network
Unlike the logistics centres, where Amazon hires most of its workers directly and which have formed their own works councils, the multinational has set up a network of companies to provide parcel delivery services. Even so, the couriers of these subcontractors often also carry vans and uniforms with the Amazon logo.
