Court rules Meta can be sued in Kenya over alleged unlawful redundancies
20/04/2023 12:28
NAIROBI, April 20 (Reuters) - A Kenyan judge ruled on
Thursday that Facebook's parent company Meta META.O could be
sued in Kenya, after 43 moderators at its Nairobi hub last month
filed a lawsuit against the group and its local partner Sama for
unfair termination.
In response, Judge Matthews Nduma issued an interim
injunction against Meta and Sama preventing them from
terminating the moderators' contracts, pending a judgment on the
legality of their redundancy.
"The court finds that this court has jurisdiction to
determine the matter of alleged unlawful and unfair termination
of employment on grounds of redundancy," Nduma said on Thursday.
The moderators in the petition - who are now 184 in number -
say they were fired in retaliation for complaints about working
conditions and attempts to form a union.
"I do this work because I believe in protecting people,"
said Juanita Jones, a moderator in the petition.
"Moderation is the frontline defence of the internet – and
it is time to value the work like it, not treat it as some
disposable, dead-end job," Jones said.
The moderators say they were blacklisted from applying for
the same roles at another outsourcing firm, Luxembourg-based
Majorel, after Facebook switched contractors.
Meta, Sama and Majorel did not immediately respond to
requests for comment on Thursday.
A Kenyan labour court in February ruled that Meta could be
sued in the East African country after one former moderator at
the Nairobi hub filed a lawsuit against it, alleging poor
working conditions.
The cases could have implications for how Meta works with
content moderators globally. The U.S. giant works with thousands
of moderators around the world, tasked with reviewing graphic
content posted on its platform.
(Reporting by Ayenat Mersie; Editing by Hereward Holland and
Jan Harvey)
((ayenat.mersie@thomsonreuters.com;))