Rockstar Games are now facing hundreds of current employees fighting back against the recent decision to fire nearly 40 staff members. Plus, new protests outside the main UK offices have been organised.
It has been a turbulent month or so for Rockstar Games and the talented employees who are busy crafting GTA VI. The recent alleged union busting scandal took a new turn on Wednesday with legal claims being filed against Rockstar for the affected developers. The claims were filed after Rockstar refused negotiation meetings with the union.
An Open Letter
Following this, the Independent Workers of Great Britain have announced that an open letter has been sent to Rockstar management. The 220 letters signed by as many staffers currently employed at Rockstar North in Edinburgh. This is the main development office for Rockstar and GTA 6.
This letter calls on Rockstar to reinstate all of the workers that lost their jobs last month. Rockstar said they were sacked over “gross misconduct” whilst the IWGB state it is a move to stop a union from forming.
“It’s heartwarming to see so many of our colleagues supporting us and holding management to account – 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.” – Peter, a fired Rockstar Games developer.
Further Protests
The IWGB officially announced more protests for this situation via their social media pages on Thursday. The first of the two will begin at 8am on Friday 14th November outside of Take-Two Interactive’s London office. Another Take-Two protest is set to be outside the Paris office at 4pm CET.
The third protest will begin at 5pm outside of Rockstar North’s office at Barclay House, Edinburgh. According to the Edinburgh News, this protest is taking place alongside a “cross-party parliamentary group meeting on Scotland’s games industry”. This will not only be a standing protest but a march to Holyrood, Scotland’s Parliament.
In other Rockstar Games and Edinburgh news, the company are sponsoring a yearly triathlon event once again. Learn more about it here. Plus, more long-time employees left Rockstar last week but by their own choice; all from the same department…find out about that situation in our report.
Be sure to stay tuned to RockstarINTEL for all the latest news on Rockstar Games and GTA VI.
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