Government shoud do more to protect the Dignity & Human Rights of Digital Platform Workers

Human rights bodies have condemned working conditions for Digita Platform African workers by foreign companies. They voiced the deplorable conditions compared to other continents according to labour laws such as Low wages, rights to articulate the issues facing them, and other concerns they have been deprived which has caused concern.

They decried that the bodies responsible for voicing out these concerns have been silent as the workers continue to suffer and lose jobs. Therefore this has caused concern, demanding action from the Kenyan government and key stakeholders to salvage the situation before it escalates to a more serious threat.

We urge the  President, Parliament, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the  Directorate of Immigration Services and all other duty-bearers to act with speed to safeguard the best interest of all the affected workers by the  Kenyan law. 

Below is the statement for the human rights activists

WE BELIEVE that digital platform work represents an emerging and important aspect of the future of work. However, we also note that the rapid

transformations in the labour marketplace are happening in a context that lacks the proper regulatory frameworks and/or weak enforcement mechanisms to ensure these transitions do no harm to the rights of parties involved and that businesses do not violate the labour and related human rights of workers in their countries of operation.

WE ARE AWARE of several legal disputes lodged in the Kenyan courts in the  past few months, including one in which more than one hundred and eighty  (180+) online Content Moderators working for Facebook and Sama its subcontractor in Kenya have sued the two companies for unlawful and unfair  dismissal;

WE BELIEVE that just like the mass termination of hundreds of Facebook workers in Kenya, the sudden closure of some accounts for Remotasks and  Jumia Food delivery services highlights the vulnerability of workers in this emerging realm of work, especially those who depend primarily on such digital platforms work for their livelihood.

WE APPRECIATE that in a country grappling with significant levels of general unemployment (approximately 13%) and more specifically youth unemployment according to the 2019 census (approximately 39%) these digital platform jobs, including by companies and platforms such as Facebook,  YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok are increasingly providing important opportunities for many young people in Kenya, Africa and elsewhere in the world to earn a living and economic sustenance.

HOWEVER, questions remain about how to ensure a safe, empowering and dignifying work environment for digital platform workers including fair compensation and equal pay for equal work, labour mobility across countries and new dynamics about the treatment of digital workers doing digital platform work away from their home countries. More importantly, we know that the digitalization of labour platforms has serious implications for the rights of workers to organize and unionise.

BECAUSE OF THE ABOVE, WE ARE DEEPLY CONCERNED WITH:  

1. The Government of Kenya focus on the idea of ALL and ANY digital jobs  without evident consideration for safeguards to protect the dignity and  human rights of the Kenyan workers in this new realm of employment;
2. The absence of a clear and comprehensive framework for the protection of  digital and platform workers’ rights including access to the right  information, and fair and humane treatment at all times;
3. Lack of transparency and/or intentional misinformation during  recruitment for digital platform jobs, and intentional targeting of  vulnerable groups for exploitation under the guise of ‘expanding  opportunities.’
4. Significant, unreasonable and unconscionable disparity in salaries, wages  and benefits between digital platform workers in Kenya and their  counterparts in the rest of the world;
5. The inability of, and/or unwillingness of foreign-owned Business Process  Outsourcing companies to prioritise the well-being (especially mental  health) of their workers and provide adequate support for those in need;
6. Increasing impunity and violation of the laws of Kenya, including violation  of lawful Court Orders by foreign companies under the watch of the EPZ  Authority;
7. Senior government officials’ appearances with, patronising of, and seemingly subtle endorsement of, and solidarity with foreign companies that violate worker’s rights and lawful court orders. In particular, we believe that the President’s visit to Sama on February 27  with Ethiopia PM Abiy Ahmed at a time when the company is facing court cases over worker exploitation, human trafficking, and modern slavery sends a wrong signal.

SUBSEQUENTLY, WE DEMAND THE FOLLOWING:

1. ALL companies offering work in the digital platform workspace in  Kenya conduct a self-assessment of their operations to ensure they  operate within the laws of Kenya;
2. The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Association of Kenya and  the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) hold their membership  accountable for compliance in the spirit of self-regulation and take steps  to ensure errant members for violations;
3. The EPZ Authority conducts and publishes a comprehensive  compliance audit of all foreign companies in the digital platform workspace in Kenya;
4. The Parliamentary Committee on Labour commences investigations on the conduct of foreign companies operating in the digital platform workspace in Kenya for unethical, discriminatory practices, including claims of union-busting behaviour; as well as ensures formalisation of the gig economy.

5. The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (CoTU) continues to  stand in solidarity with all and any workers within the Republic of Kenya and to offer support, solidarity and advice;
6. Full adherence to Chapter 4 of our constitution and the labour laws in this country.

7. That all demand for greater transparency and accountability from online  task platforms operating in Kenya