Amazon told to comply with Luxembourg labour law as authorities investigate

Luxembourg authorities are investigating eight complaints by staff against Amazon, labour minister Marc Spautz told members of parliament on Wednesday, adding that the company was already found not to keep a mandatory overtime register.

Members of parliament for left-wing party déi Lénk had requested the meeting in parliament with the minister after media reports revealed employee complaints to Luxembourg’s workplace health and safety authority, the ITM, about potential labour law violations.

“Luxembourg labour law applies to all companies,” Spautz told MPs on Wednesday. “I don’t care whether it’s the largest, second-largest or third-largest employer. We have a labour code that must be respected.”

The Luxembourg workplace health and safety authority, the ITM, is currently investigating the eight complaints against the company for potential labour law violations, Spautz added.

“Something that is definitely missing, unlike foreseen under Luxembourg labour law, is a register to log overtime,” Spautz confirmed to reporters after the committee meeting.

Amazon in August had told the Luxembourg Times that “we comply with our legal obligations in this area” when asked about keeping a record of hours worked on public holidays.

“That’s definitely not the case,” said Spautz, explaining that he had told the company during a meeting in August or September – the minister could not recall the specific date – to set up an overtime register.

Amazon opened its Luxembourg office in 2003. It has become one of the country’s largest employers, with a workforce of 4,550 staff, according to data from Statec from 1 January.

Spautz expects the ITM to file a report before Christmas, which he then intends to present to parliament. Until then, he said he would not comment further on the ongoing investigation.

Cautious optimism by opposition

“There is hope that this is taken seriously and that we will receive a report,” said Gary Diderich, who represents déi Lénk on the labour committee, after the meeting.

“It’s not an individual case. It’s a structural and systemic way in which the third-largest company organises itself to squeeze the most out of its employees,” he had said during the committee session.

“I would have hoped to be a step further,” said Djuna Bernard, an MP for the Greens, who had previously filed a parliamentary question about the complaints, about the outcome of the meeting.

“It’s necessary that this inquiry is done,” she added.

The number of complaints revealed by the minister exceeds the one publicly known until now.

The Luxembourg Times previously reported about a complaints being filed in August by a member of staff claiming they were not compensated according to the law for working on National Day, which coincided with Prime Day this year, a global programme offering special discounts.

This complaint also alleged that the company does not have a register to track employee overtime or public holiday work.

The same employee filed a second alert about consistent unpaid overtime, exceeding the limit of 48 working hours per week set out in the labour code, and an inability to get 11 hours rest between logging off at night and resuming work the next morning.

This was backed up by a further complaint by a second employee last week. The Luxembourg Times has seen all three complaints as well as notifications from the ITM that is had received them.

Spautz said that investigations into two prior complaints, which were considered closed, will be reopened as part of the ITM probe.