New coronavirus cases at Amazon warehouses in Poland as workers complain of insufficient protection

Two new cases of the coronavirus have been reported among Amazon workers from the firms distribution centres in Sosnowiec and Kołbaskowo, following a previous case in Pawlikowice near Łódż.

As Amazon’s facilities in Poland remain open during the outbreak, workers have expressed concerns about insufficient safety precautions, thought the company denies the claims.

“Every day 2,500 people enter work at one time, as another 2,500 leave. All these people pass each other in the locker rooms. There are 1,250 per locker room, which is smaller than 400 square metres,” said one Amazon worker from Poznań. “There is no way that these people can stand a metre apart, they rub against each other”.

Another worker from Sosnowiec, the site of one of two recent cases, told Onet: “the few people who had contact with the sick worker were put into quarantine, but the warehouse was not closed.”

“Despite assurances about our safety from bosses at Amazon, we are scared to work,” she added. “The people who have been put into quarantine, who could be infected, have also previously been in contact with other workers before they were isolated. In that time the virus could have spread.”

Other workers have reported that some of Amazon’s new procedures have proven counterproductive: in toilets, every second sink has been taped off, leading to more people queuing up to wash their hands, reported Gazeta Wyborcza.

An MP from the Left parliamentary group has called on the warehouse giant to improve working conditions for staff. “We need an immediate intervention, because this sort of carelessness could result in family tragedies,” warned Hanna Gill-Piątek.

The MP also noted that “Amazon is not delivering essential products in Poland”, reported Onet. Although the firm has a large presence in Poland, it currently does not offer its services therefore. Its facilities mostly serve clients in other European countries.

Amazon has responded to the criticism by saying that it is prioritising, accepting and delivering products which are “most important for customers”, including food, health and personal hygiene products, books and items facilitating remote work, reported Gazeta Wyborcza.

The firm notes that Poland’s National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) has “approved safety measures introduced by Amazon” in four of its fulfilment centres, and has “not found any lapses.”

It lists the additional measures it has taken, including: more cleaning, hand washing by workers, the provision of hand sanitiser, more buses taking people to work and back, and reorganisation of staff canteens.

In other countries too, Amazon has been accused of not providing sufficient protection for workers amid the epidemic. After a confirmed case of the virus in Chicago, workers held a walkout on Friday to demand the closure of the warehouse for two weeks for sanitisation.

In Poland, Amazon has extensive infrastructure, with seven distribution centres employing over 16,000 people already, plus almost 4,000 more to come at the new distribution centre under construction, reported Gazeta Wyborcza.

The firm also has a development centre in Gdańsk and a web services office in Warsaw, both involved in developing Amazon’s products and services worldwide.

Amazon’s expansion in Poland has not, however, been without controversy. In 2018 and 2019, workers at its Polish facilities were involved in protests over pay and conditions.

Main image credits: Scott Lewis/Flickr (under CC BY 2.0)

Maria Wilczek

Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.