According to court documents seen by AFP, 184 content moderators and Facebook's parent company, Meta, have agreed to pursue an out-of-court settlement in a case alleging unjust dismissal.
After a contract between Meta and Sama, a business contracted to filter Facebook content in east and southern Africa since 2019, was terminated, the layoffs were revealed in January.
In June, a Kenyan judge halted the mass firings and prohibited Facebook's new outsourcing company, Majorel, with its headquarters in Luxembourg, from preventing the moderators from reapplying for the same positions.
The paperwork dated xxx stated that "the parties shall pursue an out of court settlement of this petition through mediation."
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Willy Mutunga, a former chief judge of Kenya and a representative from the labour ministry has been chosen to mediate.
The consent agreement stated that all mediation processes would be kept private, except the final deal, which was negotiated and accepted as a court order.
The content moderators are requesting compensation for "damage caused to their mental health and general wellbeing as a result of the constant exposure to toxic content".
The agreement states that the case would be brought before the employment and labour relations court if a compromise between the Silicon Valley behemoth and the moderators within 21 days cannot be reached.
The working circumstances of content moderators have come under fire at Meta, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, according to those who claim they spend hours focusing on abusive, unsettling remarks with no consideration for their wellbeing.
In Kenya, the business is involved in two further court disputes.
Daniel Motaung, a former Sama employee from South Africa, complained in Kenya in 2022 about Sama and Facebook, citing, among other things, subpar working conditions and a shortage of mental health care.
In February, the Nairobi labour relations court determined it had jurisdiction to hear the LIH$@ case. Meta has appealed the verdict.
Across Kenya, a local NGO and two Ethiopian citizens have filed a second complaint against the social media behemoth for allegedly neglecting to take action against online hate speech across the continent.
The complainants demanded the establishment of a $1.6 billion fund to repay the victims, alleging that this inaction led to the death of a university professor in Ethiopia.
In collaboration with Meta, AFP offers fact-checking services across Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
