More Than 200 Employees Sign Letter Urging Rockstar To Reverse Firings

Over 200 Rockstar North staffers have spoken out against the recent firings conducted at the company’s direction, calling them “a blatant, unapologetic act of vicious union busting.”

The Rockstar Games union-busting claims aren’t going away anytime soon. For the uninitiated, on October 30, the GTA-maker terminated 31 employees at Rockstar’s UK studios, reportedly for sharing confidential information. The decision was met almost immediately with intense scrutiny from the remaining employees and the broader internet community.

Now, the UK Parliament and the IWGB (The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain) have taken notice, with the IWGB organizing over 200 employees to sign a letter demanding that the GTA developer reinstate the 31 fired employees immediately. The IWGB has also planned protests for both today, November 14, and Tuesday, November 18, to stand in solidarity with the fired members.

The IWGB has issued claims against Rockstar Games for unfairly dismissing staff for engaging in union activity and blacklisting its members. To date, the organization states that Rockstar has openly declined to meet with them to discuss this issue. This is what led to the open letter from over 200 employees and plans of protest. That, and the employees had been in the process of forming a union within the company. This union was going to be known as The Rockstar Games Workers Union, and it aimed to push for better working conditions ahead of the release of the highly anticipated (and recently delayed) Grand Theft Auto 6.

A statement issued by IWGB President, Alex Marshall, says, “We are confident that what we’ve seen here is plain and simple union busting, and we will mount a full legal defence with our expert group of caseworkers, legal officers and barristers. Employers like Rockstar would do well to understand that private spaces such as trade union Discord servers have protections, and that their company’s contractual clauses do not supersede UK law. This case stands as a warning to any employer in the games industry and beyond who thinks they are able to act with impunity against organized workers – we will not be intimidated.”

One of the unnamed employees (given the name Peter) who is still employed at the company spoke out in support of the fired colleagues, saying, “It’s heartwarming to see so many of our colleagues supporting us and holding management to account,” adding, “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.”

As of this posting, Rockstar Games has not made a formal response to the actions by the IWGB.