Omicron threat: Amazon, Flipkart mull booster doses, huddle sessions for delivery workforce

With India battling the third COVID wave, the two biggest e-commerce players, Amazon and Flipkart, are contemplating giving booster doses to delivery partners, and huddle sessions (for sensitisation/ awareness) to ensure safe and speedy operations. As respective state governments envisage implementation of weekend curfews and lockdowns, the e-tailers are preparing to put the infrastructure in place to avoid any disruption. Online sales are expected to post strong growth this year too as COVID cases surge, with lockdowns casting shadow on the physical retail sector.
 
An Amazon India spokesperson told Business Today in response to a query that it has vaccinated over 3 lakh people through various channels and is also mulling giving booster shots to its delivery wokforce in accordance with the government guidelines.

“At Amazon, safety of our teams and customers continues to be our top priority. We have made vaccination a ready choice for all of our employees, associates, partners, sellers and their dependents. We are enabling vaccination through various channels including re-imbursements, incentives, access to hospitals and on-site vaccination events organized by healthcare providers,” Amazon said in an emailed statement.

“So far, over 3 lakh people have benefited from these initiatives and we continue to expand these vaccination events for our teams to more cities and towns. We are also evaluating options to support our frontline teams with booster doses through incentives and reimbursements, as and when government guidelines and eligibility is declared,” the Amazon India spokesperson added.

In terms of preventive measures, Amazon said that a series of steps have been taken since the pandemic onset for employees, associates, and partners.

“At our sites, we have used Artificial intelligence for measures such as adherence to social distancing norms, use of face covering, and daily temperature screenings in our operations sites among more than 100 other process changes. All orders are delivered through ‘no contact delivery’ where the delivery associate rings the bell, leaves the package at the doorstep and steps back 2 meters, following social distancing guidelines for their safety. Additionally, all delivery associates regularly sanitize their hands, clean frequently touched surfaces of their vehicle and are mandated to wear a face covering at all times while making a delivery,” the company added.

Flipkart told BT that the e-tailer has started a sensitisation drive including huddle sessions, radio jockey sessions for supply chain workers while setting up vaccination facilities across various sites throughout the country. The employees have been advised to not come to the office for next two weeks.

“Flipkart has been flexible in its approach and created a hybrid model for all our corporate employees, that combines campus and remote work options starting December 2021. In view of the rising cases, we’ve advised our employees to not come into the office for the next two weeks.
 
For over 1 lakh of our supply chain employees, who form the backbone of e-commerce, we have been organising vaccination camps at our facilities across the country in addition to driving awareness sessions on the benefits of vaccinations. To ensure the all-around safety of our employees, we have rolled out initiatives such as Safekart and Suraksha to reiterate our COVID safety protocols among employees and offer benefits such as free doctor teleconsultations, instant credit etc,” Flipkart said.
 
“We have organised over 80,000 daily huddle sessions and 10,000 plus radio kockey sessions for our supply chain employees across the country, covering key aspects of vaccination while addressing various concerns pertaining to COVID. We are continuing to follow these measures and have rolled out an audit process to constantly improve our safety protocols. In addition to this, we continue to work closely with the central and state governments and are adhering to the latest COVID safety guidelines,” the e-tailer said in response to a query.