150 moderators in Ghana sue Meta over mental health damage

New lawsuits are being prepared against Meta in Ghana over moderators’ working conditions and mental health.

The lawsuits are being prepared by lawyers from UK-based Foxglove and Ghanaian firm Agency Seven Seven on behalf of 150 content moderators who worked through Accra-based contractor Majorel. The first for psychological damage and the second for wrongful dismissal.

Meta is facing its second wave of psychological health lawsuits in Africa. We have previously written about more than 140 Facebook content moderators in Kenya being diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder caused by exposure to graphic social media content.

The first lawsuit will be about recognizing psychological harm as an occupational injury in the workplace and will be a class action. And the second is for unfair dismissal involving an East African moderator whose contract was terminated after he had attempted suicide.

Moderators working for Majorel in Accra claim to:

• Suffer from depression, anxiety, insomnia, and substance abuse caused by checking out extreme content.
• Psychological help was ineffective and not provided by doctors, also personal messages from employees about the effects of their work were distributed to managers.
• The basic salary (~$80/month) is not enough to live in Accra, and even with productivity supplements it is below a living wage.
• They were forced to work overtime and were fined for not meeting the norm.
• They were closely monitored, including surveillance in the toilets.

Foxglove co-executive director Martha Dark said: “These are the worst conditions I have seen in six years of working with social media content moderators around the world.”

Teleperformance parent company Majorel denies passing on information about employees’ personal problems to management and says moderators are paid 10-16 times the minimum wage in Ghana, psychological support is provided by licensed professionals with relevant training, and employee housing is safe, air-conditioned, with gyms and swimming pools, in upscale neighborhoods in Accra.

In turn, Meta actually shifts away from direct responsibility, shifting the burden of work and all risks to contractors through outsourcing. In contracts with contractors, Meta prescribes requirements but does not control their fulfillment.

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