TORONTO – The United Steelworkers union (USW) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) are disturbed to learn of harrowing working conditions being endured by Telus Digital employees in Turkey who, as content moderators for social media giant TikTok, are pressured to review high volumes of videos depicting graphic violence and abuse.
Telus workers have spoken out against these conditions and their low pay, as was reported by The Independent. Workers formed a union and received official recognition from the Turkish government last August, but Telus Digital and Telus have refused to recognize the workers’ union, Cagri-Is Sendikasi. Since then, many vocal members have been fired outright or have been subject to layoffs. Fifteen have since filed lawsuits demanding their reinstatement.
“The job of social media content moderators is already unpleasant, but Telus Digital is making their difficult working conditions worse by subjecting them to high-pressure targets to keep their jobs while paying low wages. On top of that, Telus is engaging in union busting by firing workers that are leaders in the union. We can’t accept that in Canada or anywhere else,” said USW National Director Marty Warren.
As Telus Digital is a subsidiary of the Canadian-based Telus, the USW has urged the Canadian government to insist that Telus treat its workers in Turkey fairly and recognize their union. The USW represents 3,500 workers at Telus in Canada, where the company has outsourced and downsized thousands of employees in recent years. Canadian employees are routinely subject to intensive digital surveillance, high-pressure sales targets and pressure to praise the company in “well-being” surveys.
The USW is joined by the Canadian Labour Congress, representing over three million unionized workers in Canada, in demanding Telus and its subsidiaries recognize the rights of all of its employees – in Canada, Turkey and elsewhere around the world – to respect on the job and the right to join a union.
“As the voice of Canadian workers, we will always stand in solidarity with workers around the world who are treated poorly by Canadian corporations,” said CLC President Bea Bruske. “Workers everywhere must have the right to unionize and to advocate for better wages and working conditions. An injury to one is an injury to all.”
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