​TikTok workers sue Telus for being fired, investigation reveals

An investigation by The Independent and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has revealed how low paid workers in Türkiye, tasked with reviewing deeply disturbing videos on TikTok, are suing Canadian company Telus Digital for firing them after they tried to unionize.

Over a thousand TikTok moderators, based at Telus’s 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.

To improve their conditions, they organized with local union, Çağrı-İş. 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.

“[Çağrı-İş] was recognized by the Ministry of Labour, and we have the authorization, but there is a legal vacuum in Türkiye’s labour laws … because if the company opposes your collective bargaining … the whole process is in the trash,” said Çağrı-İş president, Cihan Sezer, in the Independent.

Dozens of workers have been dismissed in recent months and 15 workers are suing the company.

“We organized many public protests, meetings and walkouts,” said Deniz* in the article. “The company … saw me not just as a union member, but also as an organizer… and I became a target for them.”

Deniz was fired after attending one of these protests, although Telus claims it was due to a headcount reduction in her department.

Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union, said:

“Workers who endure traumatic working conditions deserve sustained psychological support and fair pay that recognizes their crucial role in shielding the public from dangerous content.”

“It’s outrageous that Telus, with a disturbing history of union busting, treats these essential workers as disposable,” she added.

UNI Global Union stands firmly with the dismissed TikTok workers and calls on Telus to reinstate the fired workers and recognize Çağrı-İş union.

Read the full story here.

*Not her real name.

Photo: Workers in Izmir demand that Telus recognize Çağrı-İş, and withdraw their legal objection.