Rockstar Games’ recent firing of over 30 employees has now reached the top authorities of U.K as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged that the company’s union busting allegations will be investigated, while describing the entire situation as “deeply concerning”.
During this Wednesday’s UK Parliament session, the Prime Minister was asked about the allegations by MP Chris Murray who said that after officially meeting with Rockstar over the company’s recent firings, they “failed to reassure me they are following employment law and I share concerns about union busting.”
Murray then asked Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer if he agrees that “all companies regardless of profit size must follow UK employment law and all workers have the right to join a union.” To that, 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,” he said. “Our ministers will look into the particular case that he [Murray] raises and will keep him updated.”
Last month, around 30 to 40 employees across offices in the United Kingdom and Canada were fired by Rockstar who were also members of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, who had called out Rockstar’s actions as “the most ruthless act of union busting in the history of the games industry.” And despite Rockstar explaining that the workers were not fired cause they were part of a union but solely due to the fact that those employees were leaking sensitive company information, the workers themselves have denied this allegation completely.
Huge megacorporations have repeatedly put profit over people in the past and have often acted like autonomous bodies that aren’t accountable nor answerable to anyone outside the companies. From that perspective, the fact that Rockstar Games which is one of the biggest studios in Gaming, will now face the higher authorities in close inspection, seems fitting and fully deserved in more ways than one.
