More than 200 Rockstar North employees have signed a letter to management calling the sudden firing of 31 employees a "blatant, unapologetic act of vicious union busting." Rockstar was immediately accused of union busting when the employees were fired at the beginning of November, and though Rockstar has tried to claim the 31 employees were fired for leaking internal information, those claims have been refuted by employees speaking out under anonymity, and by recent reporting from People Make Games, who spoke to employees who have held multiple protests outside Rockstar North's office in Edinburgh since the firings.
Spotted by Eurogamer, this letter to management is the latest action to try and get those fired employees reinstated, and contains more harsh words for management and the actions they have taken which, in the eyes of these 200+ employees, those fired, and the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) amount to nothing short of union busting.
"It's heartwarming to see so many of our colleagues supporting us and holding management to account," said one of the fired employees speaking under anonymity. "During a period where Rockstar want us to feel scared, my brave former colleagues are marching straight up to our boss's door and demanding our voices are heard and not backing down."
"It's clear to everyone close to this situation that this is a blatant, unapologetic act of vicious union busting. Rockstar employs so many talented game developers, all of whom are crucial to making the games we put out."
Of the 31 fired employees, all of them were members of the union that was growing within Rockstar, many of them integral in leading the charge towards unionization, and they were getting very close to hitting the 10% membership threshold needed to be recognized as an official union.
Those factors, along with the manner in which all 31 employees were fired make it clear to the IWGB that this is Rockstar union busting, plain and simple. Along with this letter from current Rockstar employees, the IWGB has also filed a legal claim against Rockstar after the company refused to meet with IWGB representatives speaking on behalf of those fired workers.
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