“The matter can be reconsidered if Amazon shows [a] willingness to cooperate, in particular at the request of the employment committee,” Pîslaru said, a point Kolaja confirmed was included in the note presented at the quaestors’ meeting — “sufficient willingness.”
Amazon representatives were invited to attend an employment committee hearing on “Working Conditions in Amazon Warehouses” on Jan. 23, but did not show up, claiming that the notice of about a month had been too short. The committee wrote a letter to Parliament President Roberta Metsola asking that the company’s lobbyists be denied access to the institution.
“It is unreasonable for members to be lobbied by Amazon while at the same time being deprived of the right to represent the interests of European citizens and inquire about claims of breaches of fundamental rights enshrined in EU Treaties and EU labor laws,” the letter said.
“We are very disappointed with this decision, as we want to engage constructively with policymakers,” Amazon spokesperson Sarah Tapp said in a statement, adding that the company had “on several occasions invited them to visit” its facilities. Amazon refused to host a visit to a German plant in December because it was a peak time for its business.
“That invitation [to visit our facilities] still stands, and we would welcome an opportunity to showcase the investments we have made to ensure that our work environments are modern, engaging, and safe,” Tapp said.
(Lawmakers are not allowed to go on a mission from April 1 to Sept. 30 during an election year.)
This article has been updated to include Amazon’s comment and to clarify a comment from Marcel Kolaja.
