"Rockstar Games, the video game developer behind Grand Theft Auto, has been accused of carrying out a blatant and ruthless act of union busting after allegedly firing more than 30 workers who claim they were attempting to unionise. According to The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents workers in the video games industry, UK-based employees of the developer were fired last week for being members of the IWGB game workers union Discord channel."
"In a statement to Bloomberg, the developer accused the fired workers of sharing confidential company information in a public forum, claiming that this was in no way related to people's right to join a union or engage in union activities. The IWGB refuted this, saying that workers only communicated in private and on legally protected trade union channels, and did not leak any information publicly."
"The dismissals come ahead of the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, which analysts predict will be the biggest gaming launch of all time and generate billions in sales. According to games publisher Take-Two's most recent financial reports, its predecessor Grand Theft Auto V has generated $8.6bn since its 2013 release. On Thursday, the union organised demonstrations outside the UK head office of Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games' parent company, in London and Rockstar North, the developer's Edinburgh office."
More than 30 UK-based Rockstar employees were reportedly dismissed for membership in an IWGB game workers union Discord channel. The IWGB says the dismissals were unlawful and retaliatory and targeted union activity. Rockstar told Bloomberg that the fired workers shared confidential company information publicly and denied any link to union rights. The IWGB countered that communications occurred privately on legally protected union channels and that no information was leaked publicly. The dismissals occurred ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI, and the union organised demonstrations outside Take-Two and Rockstar offices in London and Edinburgh.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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