MONTRÉAL, Nov. 24, 2025 /CNW/ - Amazon's decision to close its entire Québec distribution network following the unionization of its DXT4 warehouse in Laval violated several sections of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, alleges a complaint filed today by Oxfam America, with the support of Oxfam-Québec and the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), which represents Amazon's unionized employees in Laval.
The complaint states, "CSN and Oxfam would like to request a review of Amazon's compliance with the OECD Guidelines in light of the company's union suppression efforts, refusal to engage in collective bargaining, and mass termination of workers shortly after the formation of the company's first Canadian union."
The filing details the sequence of events that led up to the closure of Amazon's seven Québec warehouses on January 22, 2025. In 2024, Québec's Administrative Labour Tribunal condemned the U.S.-based multinational for actively obstructing a unionization drive at its YUL2 plant in Lachine. Amazon also waged an anti-union campaign at the DXT4 warehouse when it was unionizing. Subsequently, rather than meeting its obligation to negotiate with the newly unionized DXT4 employees, Amazon chose to shutter all its Québec facilities, laying off 1,700 employees and causing the elimination of over 4,500 jobs.
Oxfam and the CSN contend these actions breach chapters II, IV and V of the OECD Guidelines, as they violate the right to organize, the right to bargain collectively and the right not to be subjected to threats or retaliation for exercising those rights.
The plaintiffs are asking the OECD to apply its Guidelines to Amazon and demand that the company enter a mediation process. Key objectives include the reinstatement of the 1,700 employees at the seven warehouses, compensation of one year's salary for each employee, and a guarantee that Amazon will honour its duty to respect human rights, as set out in Chapter IV of the OECD Guidelines.
Quotes:
"The OECD Guidelines were put in place so that multinationals could be held accountable if they violate workers' rights," said Caroline Senneville, President of the CSN. "This is precisely what Amazon did when it closed its warehouses and laid off 1,700 employees to avoid being forced to respect their right to organize and bargain collectively."
"The sudden warehouse closures and mass layoffs by Amazon are consistent with longstanding concerns that our colleagues at Oxfam America have been raising for years about Amazon: low wages, restriction of workers' freedom of expression and harmful surveillance practices," said Béatrice Vaugrante, Executive Director of Oxfam-Québec. "These recent moves exacerbate inequalities and harm workers in Québec and elsewhere. The economies of Québec and Canada can be strong only if workers' fundamental right to organize is respected. This complaint is a necessary step towards accountability."
About Oxfam and the CSN
Oxfam is a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice. Founded in 1921, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) represents 330,000 workers in the public and private sectors in all regions of Québec and across Canada.
SOURCE CSN - Confédération des syndicats nationaux
Information: François L'Écuyer, CSN Communications Department, 514-949-8973, [email protected]; Shelby Bolen, Oxfam Media Officer, 949-677-3807, [email protected]
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