Amazon has stated that it will begin paying Canadian warehouse staff members working overtime double of the course of the COVID-19 crisis.
Reported by The Toronto Star, Amazon will be paying warehouse employees double their overtime wages from now until the beginning of May. In addition, Amazon has also previously implemented a $2 an hour wage boost.
In an email sent from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, employees around the world were informed that business was “not as usual”. Bezos told the company’s staff that “This is a time of great stress and uncertainty. It’s also a moment in time when the work we’re doing is it’s most critical.”
With more households staying in and avoiding human contact, Amazon shipments have been in higher demand.
Amazon has also been implementing new health and safety measures over the course of the coronavirus outbreak. The company has begun to stagger start times, and lunch breaks in its fulfillment centres to help avoid people grouping together. They have also deactivated every other workstation to promote distancing between employees as they process items.
One Amazon employee from a GTA warehouse told The Toronto Star that Amazon’s changes have been “pretty substantial” and that the company has now allowed employees to begin wearing masks.
