Discussions aimed at concluding a resolution in a long-lasting dispute initiated by 184 Facebook moderators from Nairobi against the social media's proprietor Meta have been unsuccessful.
It has been alleged by the moderators who were filtering out violent and graphic content that they were laid off due to their organisation of a union.
They were laid off from Sama, a neighborhood subcontractor.
Sama has made it clear to the BBC that they do not have any objections to unionisation.
The moderators are bringing a lawsuit against Meta, Sama and Majorel, another outsourcing company.
Meta turns to artificial intelligence to identify and take down questionable visuals on Facebook, and also still depends on a large staff of humans to detect problem posts.
A number of moderators have expressed alarm concerning the distressing content they were hired to filter out of people's feeds, for which they were reportedly paid a month's salary of $630 (£515), as declared by Sama.
The BBC was told by one of the moderators involved in the legal action of their distress when they witnessed a video of a man ending his life in front of a child.
Sama has consistently put forward the position that it offers competitive salaries in accordance with the local market, as well as psychological health assistance.
During an August interview with the BBC, Wendy Gonzalez, the chief executive of the company, insisted that the organisation had zero opposition to unionisation, asserting that "it was not a concern".
Altogether, 260 moderators were let go when Sama finished its arrangement with Meta. The 184 moderators taking the legal activity allege that they were fired in revenge for objections about work environment and attempts to set up a union.
Requiring Meta to confirm that moderators have the right to unionize and to voice their opinions about employment circumstances is included in their demands.
The moderators claim they were unjustly denied employment at Majorel, the contractor selected to handle the African moderation tasks following Sama's departure.
It came to light on Monday that the cooperation between Meta and Majorel won't take place.
"The recent court order renders it unfeasible for Meta to initiate scheduled content moderation tasks with Majorel in Kenya," Meta informed the BBC.
The firm was blamed due to a court order produced from the case that prohibited it from beginning any content moderation tasks they had intended to outsource to other companies while the lawsuit was still going on.
The company declared that they are dedicated to remaining in Africa and performing content reviews in the native languages. Consequently, they are evaluating plans with the partners that have a presence in that area in order to maintain guaranteeing people's safety on their platforms.
Majorel informed the BBC: "Regrettably, following a thorough evaluation, we have today given notice to roughly 200 employees in Nairobi of the possibility of job loss."
The company stated that it is still devoted to aiding Kenya's ambition of becoming a "top spot" for digital outsourcing.
By August, they were directed to aim for a resolution through mediation outside of court.
The failure of that has resulted in the legal case progressing, though the judge encouraged the parties to remain devoted to "genuine dialogue" prior to the court's next hearing on 31 October.
The attorneys representing the moderators claimed that Meta lacked dedication to the talks.
Mercy Mutemi, the lawyer for them, said they were open to continuing if they were willing to earnestly participate.
Martha Dark from Foxglove, a campaign group that is standing behind the lawsuit, remarked, “Meta’s procrastination has brought them back to court.”
However, Meta's attorney maintained that the parties had been making headway in negotiations.
Sama expressed its dissatisfaction that the mediation process did not result in a resolution.
The court process aside, the company stated that it had managed to agree on a resolution with around 60 moderators, highlighting its "dedication and readiness to identify an amicable, advantageous resolution".
Meta is facing other legal difficulties in Kenya.
In February, a Kenyan court determined that former moderator Daniel Motaung could take legal action against Meta in regards to complaints about inadequate work conditions.
Meta is facing a court case in Nairobi regarding claims that its algorithm assisted in the circulation on social media of hate and violence in connection with the civil war in Ethiopia.
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