An investigation by The Independent and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has revealed how low paid workers in T\u00fcrkiye, tasked with reviewing deeply disturbing videos on TikTok, are suing Canadian company Telus Digital for firing them after they tried to unionize.<\/p>\r\n
Over a thousand TikTok moderators, based at Telus\u2019s operations in Izmir, are regularly exposed to distressing content, including videos depicting terrorism, extreme violence and child abuse, leading to significant mental health challenges such as depression and sleep disturbances.<\/p>\r\n
To improve their conditions, they organized with local union, \u00c7a\u011fr\u0131-\u0130\u015f. Telus then fired 15 union members, say workers. More than 60 per cent of workers joined the union by July last year, well over the threshold to begin bargaining. However, Telus has raised a legal objection through the courts, which could take years to resolve, and diminish support for the union in the meantime.<\/p>\r\n
\u201c[\u00c7a\u011fr\u0131-\u0130\u015f] was recognized by the Ministry of Labour, and we have the authorization, but there is a legal vacuum in T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s labour laws \u2026 because if the company opposes your collective bargaining \u2026 the whole process is in the trash,\u201d <\/em>said \u00c7a\u011fr\u0131-\u0130\u015f president, Cihan Sezer,<\/strong> in the Independent.<\/p>\r\n Dozens of workers have been dismissed in recent months and 15 workers are suing the company.<\/p>\r\n \u201cWe organized many public protests, meetings and walkouts,\u201d said Deniz* in the article. \u201cThe company \u2026 saw me not just as a union member, but also as an organizer\u2026 and I became a target for them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Deniz was fired after attending one of these protests, although Telus claims it was due to a headcount reduction in her department.<\/p>\r\n