"Mediation fails between Meta and Kenyan moderators, rights group says", 16 October 2023

Settlement talks have collapsed between Facebook's parent company Meta and Kenyan content moderators over a lawsuit alleging unfair dismissal, a tech rights group working with the moderators said on Monday.

The 184 moderators sued Meta and two subcontractors earlier this year after they say they lost their jobs with one of the subcontractors, Sama, for organising a union. They say they were then blacklisted from applying for the same roles at a second firm, Majorel, after Facebook changed contractors.

In August, the court asked the parties to hold out-of-court settlement talks and said the case would proceed before it if those failed. British tech rights group Foxglove said in a statement on Monday that the negotiations had broken down, accusing Meta and Sama of making "very little attempt to address core issues raised by the petitioners"...

...Sama said it was disappointed the mediation had failed, and would not comment further on the case. "We have been successful in coming to a mutually agreed resolution with about 60 moderators outside of the mediation process, demonstrating our commitment and willingness to find an amicable, beneficial solution," it said in a statement, adding it was fully complying with all court orders.

Meta declined to comment. There was no immediate comment from Majorel...