Over 40 Kenyan content moderators are suing the parent company of Facebook Meta for unlawful dismissal.
These moderators used to work for Sama, a company that takes on contract projects from Meta. They were fired from that company and decided to apply for their previous jobs at the new company Meta was working with (Majorelle) and got rejected again.
The petition filed with Kenya’s Labour Relations Court claims that facilitators who applied for jobs at Majorelle were rejected because they had previously worked at Sama.
This group of content moderators had earlier decided that they would be forming a union, and they claimed that they were fired and rejected again because of their plans to come together.
It is not the first time the tech giant has faced a lawsuit by content moderators. Back in 2020, Meta was sued by content moderators in the US and had to pay a fine of over 52 million dollars as a settlement over PTSD experienced due to their nature of work. Also, last year, one of Sama’s content moderators, Daniel Motaung filed a court case against Meta and Sama for unlawfully dismissing him because he organized a union. The union was to fight for a better working environment, but the suit was overruled in court.
However, the latest case has gained weight since a new ruling stated that despite having no official presence in Kenya, Meta could be sued for any violation.
Foxglove Technology, a nonprofit for justice in technology, sponsors the latest suit.
Foxglove director Cori Crider says, “This is a union-busting operation masquerading as a mass layoff. “They (Meta) can’t just switch suppliers and tell recruiters not to hire your workers because they are “troublemakers”—this because they have the temerity to stand up for themselves.”
A legal battle is on the way, and this will shape how Meta treats its content moderators depending on the outcome of the court judgment. Who do you think will win this case, and how will it change the role of content moderators in big tech?
Let us know your opinion in the comments section below.
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Image Source – Chetraruc
