Beyond The Hustle: Insights From “Fair Digital Kazi”, a Manifesto on the Future of African Tech and Data Work(ers)
Author: Wanjiku Maina
As Africa’s digital economy continues to thrive and traditional jobs continue to dwindle, many young Africans, including women in Kenya and Uganda are turning to digital platforms to make a living. From ride-hailing and delivery services to freelance work and tech jobs such as data labelling, content moderation and data annotation, these platforms promise flexibility and financial independence but the situation is far removed from reality. Many of these workers are susceptible to exploitation and due to gender bias, harassment, and under-representation in digital workplaces, women, who already shoulder the burden of unpaid domestic work face additional obstacles.
Unpacking the ‘Fair Digital Kazi’ Workshop
The workshop delved into some of the realities that tech workers’ face. For instance, data labelers are essential to training AI models, the likes of ChatGPT but they frequently operate in unstable circumstances without clear contracts, making them susceptible to termination without proper notice or channels. Furthermore, some of the surveillance technologies used by these platforms as the workers’ do their jobs contribute to anxiety and mental health challenges in addition to violating their privacy, even in their own homes. Content moderators for example are subjected to graphic content, without access to proper psychosocial support.
The vulnerability of digital workers is further increased by legal loopholes that currently exist in African countries’ employment frameworks. Many platforms categorise workers as independent contractors as opposed to employees, depriving them of important safeguards like those provided by Kenya’s Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), which guarantees workers’ health, care and safety at the workplace. Workers faced with unfair conditions have little to no option because labour regulations have not kept up with the realities of the ever evolving digital work.
African tech workers face constant uncertainty when it comes to fair pay. Financial stability is basically impossible due to algorithm-driven compensation models, hidden fees, and shifting payment rates. In a recent feature by 60 Minutes, Kenyan content moderators revealed that they get up to $2 an hour as gross pay. There is also a lack of transparency in how jobs are assigned or how their earnings are determined further deepening these issues. Physical safety is also one of the major concerns for women working in ride-hailing services as many face assault and harassment from customers and platform reporting mechanisms are often subpar, many times not offering any clear solutions.
Exploitation of workers’ is happening in real-time. Due to poor working conditions, low pay, wrongful termination and fundamental rights violations, content moderators formerly employed by a Meta subcontractor in Kenya have taken legal action. Despite Meta’s attempt to distance itself, the court has allowed these cases to proceed, potentially setting a precedent for holding tech giants accountable.
Reimagining Fair Digital Work Through an Afrofeminist Lense
The ‘Fair Digital Kazi’ workshop identified five crucial areas in line with Afrofeminist principles, that require immediate reforms:
1. Fair Pay
Tech workers should receive fair compensation regardless of their job classification. These digital platforms must have clear and transparent pay systems to ensure that the workers’ can maintain a consistent income, particularly in the current face of inflation and rising costs of living.
2. Fair Conditions
Secondly, strong policies must be in place to protect workers’ from exploitation, harassment, and unsafe working conditions. Because women are more likely to be victims of violence, they especially require gender-sensitive safety measures and emergency support networks.
3. Fair Contracts
The workers’ contracts must be made accessible to them and understandable, to ensure that workers are fully informed of their terms of employment. The contracts should have clear, simple language and may be translated into the local languages where applicable to avoid misunderstandings or worker exploitation.
4. Fair Management
Clear and well-organised procedures must be in place so that workers can voice their complaints and have them handled seriously. They should also have direct access to channels for disputing unlawful terminations, and unfair performance reviews with spaces that offer meaningful engagement with the tech platforms.
5. Fair Representation
Tech workers should be able to organise, participate in collective bargaining or unions and demand better working conditions regardless of their classification and these digital platforms must recognise worker-led unions and groups as legitimate participants.
Looking Ahead to a Fairer Digital Workforce
The ‘Fair Digital Kazi’ workshop reaffirmed the need to rethink African digital labour from an Afrofeminist lens, emphasising on economic justice, gender equity, and worker dignity. Platform accountability is crucial to realising equitable compensation, moral leadership and transparent policies that centre the worker as deserving of humane labour conditions. Unionizing in a manner embedded in the political economy feminist analysis will encourage community organizing for improved working conditions, guarantee better paying jobs in tech, investment in education and skill development for platform accountability.
