The Ministry of Labour is investigating the death of a worker at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Talbotville.
A fire alarm sent employees outside into minus 20 C cold for roughly 20 minutes on Sunday night. After being allowed back inside, the worker collapsed near his workstation and died.
“We’re grieving the loss of our colleague, and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones," said Amazon spokesperson Maureen Lynch Vogel. "We’re providing support to anyone at the site who may need it, including counseling services, and encouraging employees to use resources available to them via our Employee Assistance Program."
In the days following the worker's death, there have been allegations that Amazon did not do enough to protect workers left in the cold as a result of the fire alarm. When the alarm sounded at 11:10 p.m. on Sunday, the temperature combined with the wind chill was making it feel like minus 20 C outside. The all clear to return inside was given at 11:27 p.m.
"There’s nothing more important than our employees’ health and safety, which is why we ensured the site was evacuated quickly and provided warm weather kits to help keep employees warm and comfortable," said Lynch Vogel. "The site was cleared for re-entry about 16 minutes after the alarm sounded, and employees were encouraged to warm up in the break room before returning to their work stations.”
Warming kits offered to workers included a knit cap, tube socks, knit gloves, mylar blanket, and hand warmers.
Lynch Vogel dismissed suggestions that employees were not allowed to sit in their vehicles to keep warm during the evacuation. She stated there is "no truth to the claim" and that site leaders only went to employee car windows to make sure everyone was accounted for or to let them know they had been cleared to return inside.
It was also noted that several employees, including the worker who died, spent 45 minutes warming up in the break room before resuming work.
Lynch Vogel said that when the worker collapsed "for unknown reasons" near a water cooler by his workstation, 911 was called immediately and responded quickly.
The Ministry of Labour was notified about the worker's death on Monday and has assigned one ministry inspector. The ministry investigates all workplace fatalities in the province to try to determine the cause of the incident and to identify preventative actions.
Amazon's Talbotville facility, which opened last October, employs approximately 1,000 people.
