Kenyans working for Facebook paid far less than others, court told

Fresh claims of alleged unfair pay for Africans working for Meta have emerged in a landmark battle pitting the social media giant and a Kenyan labour outsourcing company against former employees.

In court documents filed before the Employment and Labour Relations Court, 185 former moderators allege that they were paid less than their colleagues working in Europe and the US.

They also alleged that they did not get proper medical cover, including dedicated psychiatrists owing to the graphic contents they were to moderate.

They alleged that those who work in other countries are paid between Sh2,322 ($18) to Sh2,580 ($20) per hour while those in Kenya get about Sh283 ($2.20) per hour.

They have sued Meta Platforms INC, Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd, Samasource Kenya EPZ, Majorel Kenya and Majorel Kenya Solutions EPZ. They listed Attorney General, Labour Cabinet Secretary and the Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services as interested parties.

“The work of a moderator is in itself not easy and is inherently toxic and dangerous. This is because moderators are exposed to the worst of humanity which they must consume in order to keep the Facebook platform healthy for everyone else,” say the suit papers.

Examples of the posts include pictures and videos of people being raped and children being molested, people being killed alive, people committing suicide or committing other forms of self-harm.

Meta in its responses stated that it cannot be sued in Kenya. It denied being an employer.

Nevertheless, they argued that the arrangement between the social media giant and the labour outsourcing companies meant that it was actively engaged as an employer.

The court heard that a moderator gets around Sh50,000 inpatient and outpatient cover.

“Moderators came into the job whole and as promising young Africans. They leave as broken shells of themselves with no hope as to whether they will ever be well again. They have built the 1st and 2nd respondents’ product into the giant that it currently is and now leave their employment with nothing to show of it apart from psychological scars of inhuman and degrading treatment from all four respondents,” the moderators’ lawyers claim.

Meta, Samasource and Majorel denied the claims. They asserted that the workplace had professionals who ensured moderators’ mental health is taken care