Amazon says enough face masks are available for the staff, but workers deny this

Employees complained temperature checks are not being enforced strictly.

Amazon is promoting its Coronavirus efforts continually, saying millions of masks are made available to the employees and Amazon delivery partners.

But on Thursday, some workers said that only a small portion of workers had been given the masks, and the inventory is minimal.

A conference call was organized ion Thursday by Athena that criticized the e-commerce giant heavily. Jordan Flowers, an Amazon warehouse employee, said: “You have to ask for a mask, they are really running low.” Three more employees of the company told temperature checks are not enforced strictly at the warehouse. Some employees are also trying to dodge the system. This health protocol was added in the past week. Workers can easily dodge the temperature check station at the entrance of the warehouse and punch their cards to go inside for work. Some workers are also taking Tylenol to pass the temperature checks.

“The millions of masks we ordered weeks ago have been distributed across our network,” “They are available to all Amazon associates, delivery service partners, Amazon Flex participants, seasonal employees, and Whole Foods Market Store employees. And we are encouraging everyone to take and use them.” Said Timothy Carter, an Amazon spokesman

These three employees are some of the many other employees who have spoken about the health issue problems during the Coronavirus crisis. Workers are starting to get more vocal as there are dozens of other Amazon warehouses in the US, which have seen confirmed Coronavirus cases. One worker named Christian Smalls was fired when he violated the quarantine order.

Workers statement on Thursday points to the difficulty the e-commerce giant is constantly facing in adding new health measure at it more than 500 logistic locations across the US. Workers are worried that if the company fails in managing the health facility and keeping the warehouses clean, the virus will spread to the customers.

Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer. It is one of the many other major retailers who are facing backlash from its employees amidst Coronavirus pandemic. There are several confirmed cases among the employees Walmart, Amazon, and major grocers.

Jeff Bezos, CEO, and Founder of Amazon, visited some locations of Amazon this week and thanked employees and workers for their efforts. Amazon is also working on various new concepts that will improve the worker’s safety, like disinfecting fog, just like used in hospitals.

Although there has been criticism on the efforts of Amazon to protect the workers, the company said a vast majority of the employees are coming to work continuously and did not take part in the protest. An Amazon spokesman said on Monday that a protest in Staten Island had only ten people; half of them were not even the employees of the company.

One worker at the New Jersey warehouse told that he is impressed by the Amazon; ‘s effort of keeping the workers protected.

“Every retail company has a warehouse operation, and they are all going through this,” he said. “There isn’t something unique about Amazon.”

Source:- news.com