The Union labour ministry has summoned Amazon India to appear before the deputy chief labour commissioner in Bengaluru on Wednesday, in connection with the alleged forced terminations by the company, according to news agency IANS.
“You (Amazon) are therefore requested to attend this office with all relevant records in the matter either personally or through an authorised representative on the aforesaid date and time without fail,” according to the ministry’s notice issued on Tuesday.
The move comes after NITES, a Pune-based union working for the rights of employees of IT companies, last week said it had submitted a petition and requested the Union government and the state labour authorities to conduct an inquiry regarding the “unethical and illegal layoffs” email being sent to employees by Amazon.
Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), had said, “NITES strongly condemns the unethical & illegal layoffs started by Amazon in India. The law of the land is above Amazon policies. As per the provisions of Industrial Disputes Act the employer cannot, without prior permission from the appropriate government, lay off any employee. Amazon employees who have served for at least a year of continuous service cannot be laid off unless served a notice three months in advance and prior permission from the appropriate government.”
The e-commerce giant has started laying off employees across the company amid an “unusual and uncertain macroeconomic environment” and plans to cut 10,000 or 3 per cent of its workforce.
Its CEO Andy Jassy has also said Amazon will continue to cut jobs into 2023 as it adjusts to business conditions and the decisions will be shared with impacted employees and organizations early in 2023.
With inputs from News18