Injury Rates at Amazon WarehousesAmazon's internal records show that the rate of 7.7 injuries per 100 workers at its U.S. warehouses is nearly double the industry standard. These internal safety records obtained by the Toronto Star inform that in 2019, its injury rate in Canada was 15 per cent higher than the company's U.S. average: 9.1 per 100 workers. In 2016, the company's warehouse in Delta, BC, was the worst of any warehouse across Canada and the U.S., with over 20 injuries per 100 workers. At its Toronto-area warehouses, injury rates have more than doubled over the last four years.
Amazon claims that its injury rate in Ontario, based on claims at the workers' compensation board, is below average for the industry. However, WSIB records reveal the lengths to which Amazon goes to dispute and challenge workers' injury claims and put pressure on workers not to file claims. During 2018 and 2019, in Ontario alone, Amazon disputed close to 80 per cent of serious injury claims. The WSIB does not classify Amazon's warehouses, called "fulfilment centres" as warehouses, but groups them in with "specialized retail" -- a sector where insurance premiums are significantly lower than the riskier warehousing industry. 2019 Injury Rates at Canadian Amazon WarehousesCalculated by number of injuries or illness resulting in days away from work or modified duties per 100 workers: Mississauga, ON
-- 7.3 (Reveal, from the Center for Investigative Reporting)
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In
2018, Amazon's worst accident year on record in Ontario, more than
two-thirds of injuries were caused by over-exertion or repetitive
motion, according to claims filed with the province's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). Most workers have
little to no access to sick leave. Permanent employees earn four paid
sick days, temporary employees have no sick leave benefits. At one
Toronto-area warehouse some 40 per cent of the staff are temporary.