The dispute between Grand Theft Auto 6 studio Rockstar and over 30 of its former developers rages on, with those affected denied interim pay by a UK tribunal.
Yesterday, 12th January, a judge ruled against making Rockstar to pay interim relief to its former developers, which the studio fired in October of last year in a move called by many “union busting”. Rockstar itself has claimed the affected staff were let go due to gross misconduct, but this didn’t appease UK trade union Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB). Soon after the dismissals, the organisation issued a legal claim against Rockstar, noting that all those affected were members of a union.
Last week, the IWGB asked a judge to grant the fired developers interim relief, which is a method of financial support for people awaiting a full hearing. If the motion had been granted, the fired employees would have returned to Rockstar’s payroll. However, it was not, though the union and its members remain undeterred in the fight for justice.
“We are emerging from this hearing, having now had a glimpse of Rockstar’s flimsy grounds for defence, feeling bolstered in our claims that these firings were not just deeply unjust but also plainly unlawful,” the IWGB said in a statement shared with Eurogamer.
It added “the judge stated in her ruling that: ‘There was no evidence of the respondent having suffered any adverse consequences as a result of these postings'”. The IWGB additionally said Rockstar had broken multiple procedural guidelines with its firing of the affected employees. This included the lack of disciplinary meetings, employees being unable to appeal “until six weeks later”, and zero evidence of an investigation.
“Comments relied on by Rockstar’s lawyers were obtained without the knowledge of employees using a private union Discord, described by the claimants as ‘covert monitoring’,” the union said. It added the Discord members Rockstar claimed were journalists and competitors were in fact union officials and employees who had recently left the company. The IWGB said those in the server were still bound by the same non-disclosure agreements as then-current employees.
Reflecting on the judge’s decision to deny interim relief to the former Rockstar employees, the IWGB said it knew this was going to be a long shot, and had it been secured it would have been “unprecedented” for a group of this number. However, the union said this latest development does not mean that “Rockstar will not be found guilty of unfair dismissal” when the case goes to trial. IWGB president Alex Marshall stated the union is “more confident than ever that a full and substantive tribunal will find Rockstar’s calculated attempt to crush a union to be not only unjust but unlawful”, despite the refusal for interim relief.
Meanwhile, an anonymous former Rockstar employee said: “This decision to fail to award [interim relief] is a gut-punch to everyone legitimately engaged in trade union activities. The real world consequences of this are forcing valuable people to leave this country, upending their families and destroying their lives, and all because of the actions of a ruthless, uncaring employer’s quest to crush a trade union.”
They added they will “continue to fight” in order to clear their name, and the names of other affected employees. “This decision, while not in our favour, is not an exoneration of Rockstar’s behaviour and actions. Merely a stumbling block on the road to justice,” they closed.
In addition to the IWGB’s legal case against Rockstar, over 200 employees at Rockstar have signed a letter to management condemning the firing of their fellow staff members.
These dismissals were also discussed in the UK Parliament last year, and UK prime minister Keir Starmer has since called the firing of Rockstar’s employees “deeply concerning”. The PM added that ministers would be looking further into the dismissals at Rockstar.
