Version imprimableThis is a fine example of an international struggle. The CGT’s telecommunications branch, in collaboration with Kenyan organisations, with the support of legal experts and drawing on academic research, has issued a formal notice to the company Téléperformance.
Social conditions in tatters
Although little known to the general public, Téléperformance, part of the TP holding company, is a French multinational employing over 400,000 staff worldwide. Through a series of acquisitions, TP has diversified, moving from call centres specialising in customer relationship management to visa processing and social media moderation.
The CEO receives a fixed annual salary of $2,625,000, plus a variable component of the same amount, whilst most employees in France barely earn slightly more than the minimum wage. Finally, as Hadrien Clouet, an MP for La France insoumise (LFI), pointed out in his question to the National Assembly in 2024, the 340 interventions by the labour inspectorate since 2016, the 60 on-site inspections to verify compliance with labour regulations, the 150 letters of observation, the dozen reports and the eight formal notices give an idea of the working conditions that may prevail within this company.
Employees at risk
As one might expect, this social abuse is found wherever the company operates. In Kenya, it has no qualms about employing undocumented migrants, which allows it to keep employees under pressure, particularly as, in that country, it is the company’s responsibility to carry out the necessary formalities with the authorities to regularise their status.
Whilst social security contributions are deducted from wages, they are paid late, or not at all, causing hardship for employees and their families, particularly when it comes to accessing healthcare. Any dissenting voice is punished, especially when it comes to trade unionists.
Finally, employees responsible for moderating social media are subjected to a constant stream of content and must identify, within a matter of tens of seconds, the applicable rule to decide whether to remove a post. Added to this pressure are the traumatic effects of exposure to extremely violent content. The psychological support offered by the company falls far short of what is needed. Seeing the company psychologist takes time, at the risk of failing to meet productivity targets. Many employees also have doubts about the confidentiality of these consultations. This is the price employees must pay to ensure a 6.35 per cent return for shareholders.
International mobilisation
In collaboration with two Kenyan organisations – the Data Labellers Association, which supports data workers, and The Oversight Lab, which defends human rights in the field of new technologies – the CGT [major French trade-union confederation] has served a formal notice under the 2017 Duty of Care Act.
The company, whose profits amounted to 497 million euros in 2025, has three months to take measures to ensure the protection of employees and compliance with legislation on work permits and trade union rights. Failing this, the union will take the matter to the relevant courts. This is a model example of a workers’ response to corporate offshoring policies.
15 October 2026
Translated by International Viewpoint from l’Anticapitaliste.
