35 workers file petition against Bill granting foreign tech companies immunity
The tech workers argue that the Bill results from legislative capture by Big Tech and denies them public participation, exposing Kenyan workers to exploitation.
35 workers under the Africa Tech Workers Movement have moved to court to challenge the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024.
In a petition supported by Oversight Lab, the workers argued that the Bill shields foreign tech firms operating in Kenya from prosecution over labour and human rights violations.
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The workers said the Senate failed to consult the public, and claimed the Bill was pushed by lobbying from global tech firms and their local agents.
"The Senate failed to carry out public participation and locked the workers out of the legislative process by denying them an audience to share their concerns on the Bill," Oversight Lab's statement read in part.
They added that Bill was in response to a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc and its local partner, Sama, over alleged rights abuses involving content moderators.
"On December 9, 2024, the President, in a public address, announced how, after the filing of the lawsuit against Meta and their local agent, Sama begged him to protect them from the lawsuit. As a result, he informed them that he would change the laws to make sure they would never be sued for any reason whatsoever in Kenya," they argued.
Led by Joan Kinyua, the president of the Data Labellers Association of Kenya, Wycliffe Alutalala, the president of the Digital Taxi Workers Association, and Naftali Wambalo, a former content moderator, the workers warned of legal challenges if Parliament validates the Bill.
"Ours is to now caution both houses of Parliament - and in particular the National Assembly - against receiving and acting on the tainted Bill given the irredeemably flawed process at the Senate," said Kinyua.
According to Alutalala, the Bill grants tech companies permanent immunity in Kenya, even for serious abuses, including underpay, discrimination, and harm to workers.
"The Bill seeks to legalise the violation of workers' rights while protecting foreign commercial and political interests," he argued.
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