The contract laborers employed by Facebook are responsible for everything from moderating content to helping train the AI. However, they often complain about being underpaid.
In response to their complaints, Facebook agreed to improve their work conditions by increasing their pay and even adding a few benefits for the content moderators.
After the pay raise are implemented, contractors working in San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, and Washington DC will receive wages at $20 per hour while the workers from Seattle will receive $18 per hour.
The new pay scale is an increase from the $15 minimum wage Facebook set in 2015. According to the official announcement by the social media company, the pay increase will be in effect by mid-next year while the company also has plans to develop similar standards for their international workforce.
For the content moderators, Facebook is offering even higher wages. In the Bay Area, New York, and Washington DC, the workers will get at least $22 per hour. Those who are working from Seattle are expected to receive $20 per hour while the rest of the US will settle for $18 per hour.
Because content moderators are sometimes subjected to distributing media such as the footage of the Christchurch shooting, the social media giant is planning to introduce a new set of tools to protect the moderator’s psychological well-being as well. In fact, they will soon receive resilience training and on-site counseling.
They will also be allowed to blur the graphic images before reviewing and Facebook will follow up with the moderators through ‘resiliency survey’ that would enable them to better understand their needs.
Photo: Facebook
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In response to their complaints, Facebook agreed to improve their work conditions by increasing their pay and even adding a few benefits for the content moderators.
After the pay raise are implemented, contractors working in San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, and Washington DC will receive wages at $20 per hour while the workers from Seattle will receive $18 per hour.
The new pay scale is an increase from the $15 minimum wage Facebook set in 2015. According to the official announcement by the social media company, the pay increase will be in effect by mid-next year while the company also has plans to develop similar standards for their international workforce.
For the content moderators, Facebook is offering even higher wages. In the Bay Area, New York, and Washington DC, the workers will get at least $22 per hour. Those who are working from Seattle are expected to receive $20 per hour while the rest of the US will settle for $18 per hour.
Because content moderators are sometimes subjected to distributing media such as the footage of the Christchurch shooting, the social media giant is planning to introduce a new set of tools to protect the moderator’s psychological well-being as well. In fact, they will soon receive resilience training and on-site counseling.
They will also be allowed to blur the graphic images before reviewing and Facebook will follow up with the moderators through ‘resiliency survey’ that would enable them to better understand their needs.
"We’re working to make contracts across our Global Operations vendor partners consistent. This includes requirements like quality-focused incentives, no sub-contracting, overtime and premiums for nightshifts and weekends, and healthcare that meets the standards of the Affordable Care Act in the US and appropriate healthcare standards internationally.", announced Janelle Gale, VP of HR and Arun Chandra, VP of Scaled Operations, in a blog post on Facebook.The issues are not limited to Facebook. Even content moderators and contract workers at Google and Reddit have complained about unsuitable working conditions and low pay.
Photo: Facebook
Read next: Getting to the top in tech - A decade of Google search interests on Mark Zuckerberg
