Amazon near end of hiring spree at Tsawwassen fulfilment centre
Credit to Author: Derrick Penner| Date: Thu, 05 Sep 2019 00:41:35 +0000
Online commerce giant Amazon’s massive new Tsawwassen fulfilment centre looms large on the horizon, and not just for its physical presence on the landscape.
At 450,000 square feet — that is just over four hectares — it takes up the equivalent of five Canadian-Football-League fields’ worth of the Tsawwassen First Nation’s land in Delta.
With some 800 new full-time jobs to fill, in addition to two other fulfilment centres in Metro Vancouver that already employ hundreds, the Amazon facility will also have a big imprint on the region’s already competitive labour force.
“We’re tracking well to our hiring goals of more than 800 full-time employees,” said spokeswoman Shevaun Brown, with the opening of the centre expected later this fall.
The positions, which cover everything from receiving merchandise, putting it into inventory then picking, packing and shipping orders, were described as “living-wage jobs,” by Amazon’s regional director of operations Vibhore Arora during a media event earlier this year.
Amazon has a mixed reputation as an employer, with former employees telling of onerous production targets and a severe work environment where workers worry about taking bathroom breaks.
The company, however, stands by its employment standards that have proved to be an attractive part of its recruiting efforts, according to Brown.
“Associates are the heart and soul of our operations and, in fact, they are also our No. 1 recruiter for new hires by regularly encouraging friends and family to apply for roles,” Brown said.
The job description on Amazon’s online job board does sound demanding with a “very fast-paced environment” requiring fulfilment associates to stand and walk for shifts of 10 to 12 hours, lift up to 49 pounds “with or without reasonable accommodation,” continuously climb and descend stairs and frequently push, pull, squat, bend and reach for items.
Starting wages, at between $15 and $16.25 per hour, according to two postings, are better than B.C.’s minimum wage, which is $13.85 as of June 1 and scheduled to be bumped up to $15 by June 1, 2021. The Amazon jobs also come with benefits.
“We encourage anyone to compare our pay, benefits and workplace to other major employers across the country,” Brown said.
According to the Ministry of Labour, since 2017, Amazon has been the subject of six employee complaints to the Employment Standards Branch related to its existing fulfilment centres in Delta and New Westminster.
Of those, five cases were resolved or closed without findings of violations of the Employment Standards Act. The sixth complaint is still open, according to a ministry spokesperson.
The new fulfilment centre is part of the Delta iPort centre, an industrial and logistics facility developed by the commercial landlord GWL Realty Advisors for the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan on land leased from the Tsawwassen First Nation.
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