World

FB Subcontractor Allegedly Threatens to Leave Employees Without Jobs on Xmas

A group of employees of a Facebook subcontractor, who earlier complained about their working conditions, describing them as "frightening", now reportedly faces the risk of unemployment for Christmas.
Sputnik

A group of 20 people with the Facebook subcontractor Filter Digital, who had previously called on their management to improve their terms of employment, was told that they need to either accept the company's counter-offer or be prepared to lose their places, according to The Guardian.

"As we discussed in our meetings, the Facebook contract renews in January. Therefore, for business planning purposes we need to hear from each of you regarding whether you wish to continue working for Filter on this engagement… If you do not return the signed offer letter by that time, we will assume you do not wish to continue your employment with Filter", Filter Digital's email to its employees reads.

READ MORE: Facebook Allowed Third Parties to View and Delete Users’ Messages — Report

The situation regarding the employees of the Facebook subcontractor, who are pursuing better working conditions, sparked internal discussions at Facebook and led to a response from Andrea Schubert, a spokesperson for Facebook, who said that Facebook had "addressed [the existing concerns] with Filter Digital and they took action to communicate back to their employees", The Guardian reported.

Successful Lawsuit Against Facebook to Trigger Other Lawsuits – Media Lawyer
Later, Filter Digital compiled a written statement, where the company's officials said that the abovementioned letter to its employees "was not intended to deliver an employment ultimatum". It was also promised that the subcontractor employees "will continue [working] at their new wages and benefits in 2019".

On 6 December, a group of 20 employees working for Facebook subcontractor Filter Digital signed a letter addressed to their management, calling on the latter to improve their employment terms.

READ MORE: ‘We Are the Product’: Facebook Sold Your Data Then Lied to You About It

In a written statement by the group, they said that they are "currently working in an environment that's honestly frightening".

"The word ‘contingent' doesn't even begin to describe the way we feel about our future… We went through the proper channels and all we got were threats, coercion and retaliation in response", the employees' statement reads.

Discuss