In the latest chapter of the controversies surrounding Rockstar Games having fired over 30 of its employees last month in an act that has been described as union busting, the government of UK is now getting involved. According to IGN, a recent session of Prime Minister’s Questions in the UK Parliament had Member of Parliament (MP) Chris Murray bringing the event to the attention of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
“The video games company Rockstar in my constituency last month fired 31 employees without providing evidence or union representation,” said Murray during the session. “The [Independent Workers Union of Great Britain union] IWGB alleges union busting. Having met Rockstar they failed to reassure me they are following employment law and I share concerns about union busting.”
“Given this government is responsible for the biggest increase in workers rights in a generation, does the Prime Minister agree all companies regardless of profit size must follow UK employment law and all workers have the right to join a union?”
Responding to this question, Starmer said re-affirmed that workers have the right to join a trade union. While he didn’t exactly promise a course of action, he did note that the ministers will start looking into the actions of Rockstar Games and see what can then be done about it.
“It’s a deeply concerning case,” Starmer replied. “Every worker has the right to join a trade union and we’re determined to strengthen workers rights and ensure they don’t face unfair consequences for being part of a union. Our ministers will look into the particular case that he [Murray] raises and will keep him updated.”
When reports of Rockstar Games engaging in union busting activities by firing the employees first came to light last month, the company had said that the employees were let go because of “misconduct”. Parent company Take-Two Interactive spokesperson Alan Lewis expressed support for the studio by saying that the employees were responsible for “gross misconduct” and that they were fired “for no other reason”. Responding to this, IWGB president Alex Marshall instead called the company’s actions a blatant and ruthless act of union busting.
“Rockstar has just carried out one of the most blatant and ruthless acts of union busting in the history of the games industry. This flagrant contempt for the law and for the lives of the workers who bring in their billions is an insult to their fans and the global industry,” said Marshall.
A more recent report has indicated that the “gross misconduct” that the employees were accused of came down to the fact that they were using a Discord channel to discuss workplace conditions and worker rights, as well as other union-related subjects. The employees did this because of an event referred to as “the Slack purge” where Rockstar Games had removed many channels that would have been used for subjects unrelated to their work. Since the firing, the employees, as well as the IWGB have been protesting at Rockstar’s various studios across the UK.
