Meta’s content moderation partner in Africa, Sama, was forced earlier today by a Kenyan court to pay April salaries to some of the moderators it left out. The direction comes days after moderators at Sama headquarters in Kenya picked on and demanded April payment.
The court issued the orders following an urgent request filed on April 27 on behalf of the moderators to force Sama to pay their salaries and comply with orders issued in March.
Some 184 moderators sued Sama for allegedly unlawfully firing them after it shut down its content review department in March, and Majorel, the social media giant’s new partner in Africa, for blacklisting on Meta’s instructions.
Today, the judge ordered “Sama to continue paying the petitioners as Facebook moderators … and within the terms of the court’s orders.”
The court issued temporary orders on March 21 prohibiting Sama from making any form of layoff, and Meta from hiring Majorel. Majorel was also ordered to refrain from blacklisting ex-Sama moderators.
The court directed Sama to continue reviewing content on Meta’s platforms and to be the only provider in Africa pending the ruling of the case. However, Sama sent the moderators on mandatory leave in April, saying it had no work for them because its contract with Meta had expired.
The moderators filed the lawsuit in March, alleging that Sama had not issued notices of resignation, as required by Kenyan law, that the moderators had not been given 30 days’ notice, and that their dues were tied to their non-disclosure agreement. documents among other claims. Sama says it complied with Kenyan law, including by adequately informing employees.
Sama announced in January that it was shutting down Meta’s contract and content review services, laying off 260 people, to focus on labeling work (computer vision data annotation). This came months after another lawsuit was filed in Kenya by former content moderator, Daniel Motaung.
Motuang, a South African, had accused Sama and Meta of forced labor and human trafficking, unfair labor relations, breaking up unions and failing to provide “adequate” mental health and psychosocial support. He is said to have been fired for organizing a strike in 2019 and trying to unite Sama employees. Sama and Majorel moderators voted to form a union earlier this week.