Rockstar Games is now getting a worker’s union. In a statement, the IWGB – the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain – has confirmed that the studio and its workers have come to an agreement to hold a vote between November 12th and November 26th to decide the future of workers’ rights in the company. According to Aftermath, after being voted into existence, the union will “grant workers a say over issues including pay and bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working, and generative AI policies.”
Union committee member Shanti Easton-Steel has said that the vote will essentially come down to Rockstar’s management becoming more transparent with its workers, especially when it comes to important decisions like the gender pay gap and ever-changing policies on a variety of employment factors, including overtime pay and job security.
“For me, this vote comes down to ensuring employees at Rockstar get honesty and openness surrounding the decisions that affect them. When management choices are kept hidden, we can’t properly address issues like the gender pay gap, the uneven and ever-changing policies on overtime pay, or the concerns many co-workers hold around job security post-release.”
“This is our moment to secure a window onto the decisions that shape our lives, and a seat at the table to improve them. I’m immensely proud of the games Rockstar gives its fans—I want to be equally proud of the voice Rockstar gives its staff.”
Interestingly, the voting for the union at Rockstar Games is set to start on the same day as pre-loads for the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 – on November 12th. The period itself also coincides with the game’s eventual November 19th release, which also happens to be one day before the final hearing for Rockstar Games’ union-busting tribunal.
The company was granted an extension following its legal team asking for more time in order to appropriately cross-examine the former employees who had been laid off from the company last year. While the firing of these employees last year had sparked quite a bit of outrage, with the IWGB going as far as to allege that it was part of the company’s larger union-busting efforts, the company has asserted several times that the employees in questions were fired due to “gross misconduct” and the “sharing of confidential company information.”
“Rockstar Games’ position has been clear and consistent throughout. Individuals across the UK and Canada were dismissed for gross misconduct following the sharing of confidential company information, not because of alleged trade union membership or activity. We reject the claims and will defend them vigorously before the tribunal.”
Jason Lewis – a member of the IWGB and a former Rockstar Games employee – has spoken about the uphill legal challenges that have been faced by him alongside the other workers that were fired last year. “Now we finally get a chance to put it on the record,” he said about the tribunal hearing.
“We have fought tooth and nail to get to this point, not just to be able to win justice for ourselves, but to draw a line in the sand for any employer that thinks it can attack workers for unionising. It has been an emotional journey, and it is not over yet, but we can now see the finish line, and justice at last feels within reach.”
