Facebook to raise pay for contract workers globally

Facebook is currently paying a minimum of USD 15 per hour, a minimum 15 paid days off for holidays, sick time and vacation and for new parents who don't receive paid leave, a USD 4,000 new child benefit that gives them the flexibility to take paid parental leave.

San Francisco: Facebook has decided to raise minimum wages to its outside vendors in the US to USD 20 per hour, and would implement the same for contractors in other countries including in India.

Content moderators and other contract workers will make at least USD 18 an hour, up to USD 3 from before.

The contract workers at Facebook, employed by outside vendor partners, work either part-time or full-time and provide important services across the content review, security, culinary, transportation and other teams.

Facebook is currently paying a minimum of USD 15 per hour, a minimum 15 paid days off for holidays, sick time and vacation and for new parents who don't receive paid leave, a USD 4,000 new child benefit that gives them the flexibility to take paid parental leave.

It's become clear that USD 15 per hour doesn't meet the cost of living in some of the places where we operate. This means a raise to a minimum of USD 20 per hour in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City and Washington D.C. and USD 18 per hour in Seattle.

The move comes after several media outlets reported on the long-term impact of working as a contract moderator for Facebook, leaving some workers with symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

"We'll be implementing these changes by mid-next year and we're working to develop similar standards for other countries," said Janelle Gale, Vice President of HR, and Arun Chandra, Vice President of Scaled Operations in a blog post on Monday.

For workers in the US that review content on Facebook, the company said it is raising wages even more.

We'll pay at least USD 22 per hour to all employees of our vendor partners based in the Bay Area, New York City and Washington, D.C.; USD 20 per hour to those living in Seattle; and USD 18 per hour in all other metro areas in the US.

Facebook said it was working to make contracts across its global operations vendor partners consistent.

This includes requirements like quality-focused incentives, no sub-contracting, overtime and premiums for night shifts and weekends, and healthcare said Facebook.