The Pune labour commission has sent a notice to Amazonand NITES (Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate), the IT employees union, for a joint discussion on January 17 over alleged layoffs by the company in India and its voluntary separation policy.
“It is hereby informed that a joint meeting will be held in front of the undersigned in his hall on 17/01/2023 at 3 pm, regarding the layoff of workers in your establishment/factory,” the letter by Assistant labor commissioner read.
NITES had written a letter to Union Labour and Employment Minister, Bhupender Yadav, on 19th November condemning the layoffs started by Amazon in India and asked for the minister’s intervention into the matter. The organization said it has received complaints from employees of Amazon that they are being forced to quit the company voluntarily.
Also read: Amazon to lay off around 1,000 staff in India
Harpreet Singh Saluja, President of, NITES in a statement said, “Livelihood of 1000s of employees & their families has now been made vulnerable. As per procedures laid down under Industrial Dispute Act, the employer cannot, without prior permission from the appropriate government, lay-off an employee featuring on the muster rolls of the establishment.”
It is pertinent to note that a worker who has served for at least a year of continuous service cannot be retrenched unless served a notice three months in advance and prior permission from the appropriate government, he added.
The employee union had said that the company has sent a detailed Voluntary Separation Program (VSP). “Livelihoods of thousands of employees and their families have been made vulnerable. The company has also given a deadline to the employees till November 30, 2022, to complete this process,” it had written in its letter. Reportedly, Amazon has announced that the company would let go of 10,000 employees globally.
Also read: Amazon to slash more than 18,000 jobs in escalation of cuts
Amazon did not respond to businessline’s queries about the notice by the time of publication.