Ms Fionnuala Ní Bhrógáin:

I am the head of organising with the Communications Workers Union, CWU in Ireland. The CWU represents workers in the postal, telecoms and call centre digital sectors. The increasing footprint of global digital companies in Ireland has brought changes to the existing landscape and new challenges for workers in these areas. We are pleased to appear before the committee today along with Foxglove and, in particular, with Isabella Plunkett, who has shown great courage by speaking out. I thank committee members for giving us the opportunity to speak to them today and for giving voice to a group of workers who have been protecting us and our families, quietly and in the background, but without the same protections their directly employed colleagues and other workers enjoy.

Despite the critical service content moderators provide, they are led to believe they cannot voice concerns regarding that work and its impact on them, their colleagues and their families. It is our information that content moderators are required to sign non-disclosure agreements at the start of their employment. They are not given a copy of these agreements to retain for reference. This has a chilling effect from the start and creates an atmosphere in which workers fear retaliation if they try to vindicate their right to raise legitimate issues and concerns in their workplace. We have been advised that workers are frequently reminded of the existence of these agreements and they are prohibited from discussing any and all aspects of their work, whether that be with a trade union representative or even with their own families.

Social media platforms and their outsourcing partners exploit moderators' lack of legal training to make demands for secrecy that are possibly unlawful. Two moderators received messages seeking to reassert this secrecy from one of the two outsourcing firms in advance of this hearing. This climate of fear has chilled workers' participation in legitimate democratic processes and is unacceptable. Trade unions have long experience of workers having a fear of speaking out or of talking to a trade union, let alone joining one. Coupled with the atmosphere created by non-disclosure agreements, this fear is clearly amplified. The right to join a union is enshrined in our Constitution and yet workers are led to believe this right cannot apply to them. Furthermore, the European Parliament is currently in discussions on a proposal for a directive on an adequate minimum wage in the EU. This debate has expanded to include collective bargaining rights and access to workplaces for the purposes of organising, thus recognising the need for these protections. How can such rights be achieved when workers feel silenced by their own employer?

It is worth noting that a large proportion of content moderators working in Ireland are non-nationals, working on various streams and in multiple languages. Employers rely not only on their language abilities but also on their unique understanding of their respective cultures to make judgments on what is and is not appropriate material. This valuable cultural and linguistic insight is also part of these workers' vulnerability due to their possible lack of knowledge of their rights and entitlements here in Ireland. It cannot be said strongly enough that the content these workers are exposed to can be grotesque and traumatising and includes violence, extremism, child exploitation and more. During the past year, society has come to recognise the vital role played by front-line workers. In terms of this critical service to society, surely we owe it to these workers to value their work as it should be valued.

Artificial intelligence and other technologies are nowhere near being able to review and make the judgment calls taken by thousands of moderators here in Ireland, across Europe and the rest of the world. Social media companies are fully aware of this dynamic but continue to outsource this work, meaning moderators do not enjoy the same level of support, benefits and protections as direct employees. Without the moderators' expertise, these platforms would simply cease to function. When attempting to engage with employers, the outsourcing company can point to the requirements of the client company and the client company can point to the fact these workers are not, in fact, their employees. Where does the buck stop? By directly employing content moderators, these global giants would be recognising the immense importance of their work to society while also recognising the impact of this work on their mental health, their families and their relationships.

In order for moderators to exercise their rights without fear of reprisal, we ask the committee to engage with these employers, prohibit all acts which undermine workers' rights or discourage their active participation in a union, and ensure proper access for all workers to the necessary information on their rights. Our society is made better by work of content moderators. They are suffering so that we do not have to, and the least they deserve is to be rewarded and protected accordingly.