Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed UK ministers “will look into the particular case” of supposed union busting at Rockstar.
Speaking in parliament today (December 10), Scottish Labour MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh Chris Murray asked Starmer if “all companies, regardless of profit and size, must follow UK employment law and all workers have the right to join a union.”
Murray said he had met with Rockstar, but they “failed to reassure [him] they are following employment law.” He also shared the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain’s (IWGB) concerns of union busting.
In response, Starmer described the dismissal of Rockstar employees as a “deeply concerning case” and that ministers would investigate.
“Every worker has the right to join a trade union,” said Starmer. “We’re determined to strengthen workers rights and ensure they don’t face unfair consequences for being part of a union.”
On October 30, Rockstar fired 31 employees for “gross misconduct,” all of which were union members.
The IWGB described Rockstar’s decision as “the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting in the history of the games industry.”
In response, Rockstar said it took “action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum.”
People Make Games then claimed this “confidential information” was the discussion of Slack policies on a closed, invite-only Discord server used by unionised and non-unionised employees.
In the weeks following, 220 employees at Rockstar North signed a letter condemning Rockstar’s decision, demanding “the immediate reinstatement of their colleagues.”
Protests also took place outside Rockstar North and Take-Two Interactive’s offices in London and Edinburgh, as well as a rally outside the company’s Paris headquarters led by members of Le Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV).
IWGB has since filed legal claims against Rockstar for unfairly dismissing staff, and claimed Rockstar “declined” to meet with the union regarding the case.
“Despite our representation and attempts to meet with Rockstar to resolve the matter through negotiation, Rockstar have declined and persisted to terminate members of the union in a manner that is unacceptable and unlawful,” it said.
“Accordingly, we have now issued formal legal claims against Rockstar on behalf of the Claimants. Our members allege that Rockstar’s conduct constitutes trade union victimisation and blacklisting.”
