The Senate has asked the High Court to throw out a petition filed by tech workers opposing a law that would protect global technology companies from being sued for labour and human rights violations.
The Business Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024, which is currently before the National Assembly, seeks to grant immunity to firms such as Meta and Google for alleged abuses in Kenya. Senators argue that the petition is speculative and comes before the law has even been debated.
The Bill has triggered concern among tech employees, including content moderators, who are pursuing legal action against Meta for claims of a toxic work environment and human rights violations.
The petitioners warn that if the Bill becomes law, it could prevent workers from holding global tech companies accountable for future abuses.
“The orders sought in the application and the petition further violate the principle of separation of powers that requires each arm of government to carry out their roles independently and without interference from the other arms of government,” the Senate said in its response.
Senators emphasized that there is no need to halt the Bill’s progress, arguing that courts would still retain jurisdiction to act if the legislation is enacted.
They stressed that passing the Bill is within Parliament’s constitutional authority, and any attempt to stop it undermines the legislature’s role. The court directed the tech workers to serve the National Assembly with the court documents and scheduled the matter for mention on November 25 for further directions.
The petitioners, numbering 34 tech workers, claim that the Senate did not genuinely consider public input during consultations on the Bill.
They stated that memoranda submitted by the public were largely ignored and that no public participation report was shared, denying stakeholders a chance to meaningfully contribute to the legislative process.
A key concern for the tech workers is Clause 10 of the Bill, which places liability solely on Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms where tech employees are engaged through these agencies, even if the tech company provides the tools, manages the operations, and benefits from the workers’ labour.
The petitioners argue that this clause effectively shields multinational tech companies from legal responsibility under Kenyan law.
“While the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill has yet to be considered by the National Assembly and therefore yet to become law, the harm addressed by this Petition has materialised, making this Petition one that is ripe for consideration by the court,” the petition reads.
They further pointed out that the widespread use of global tech services in Kenya and across Africa has created strong demand for tech workers, who are essential to the operation of these companies. They argue that the Bill, if passed, would make it nearly impossible for workers to seek redress for violations in the future.
