Amazon fined again for breaching labour laws in Spain

Barcelona: Tech giant Amazon has been under investigation by regional labour authorities over its subcontracting practices for a number of years in Catalonia, Spain. According to local press reports, the latest fine for Amazon of $3,303,408 approx. follows a penalty of over $826,040 approx. it received in 2020, for similar breaches of labour laws, reports […]

Barcelona: Tech giant Amazon has been under investigation by regional labour authorities over its subcontracting practices for a number of years in Catalonia, Spain.

According to local press reports, the latest fine for Amazon of $3,303,408 approx. follows a penalty of over $826,040 approx. it received in 2020, for similar breaches of labour laws, reports TechCrunch.

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In both instances, the Generalitat fined companies Amazon had subcontracted for delivery services or to provide it with temporary staff — issuing a total of around 2.6 million Euros in fines to 17 companies in the latest case.

“The Catalan Labour Inspectorate proposes a (total) fine of 5.8 million Euros to Amazon for subcontracting workers, according to the Statute of Workers Rights,” a spokesperson for the regional government was quoted as saying.

Amazon was approached for a response but a company spokesperson said: “We do not comment on ongoing legal cases,” — suggesting it is seeking to appeal.