Rockstar staff will vote on union recognition amid the launch of GTA 6.
Recognition of the IWGB Union at Rockstar will be put to an employee vote from November 12-26, which just so happens to coincide with the release of GTA 6 itself, on November 19.
The terms of the recognition deal were agreed following months of negotiations that took place even as the IWGB and Rockstar clashed over the firing of 31 workers for allegedly leaking company secrets in October last year. The IWGB has alleged the workers were unlawfully fired, and have accused Rockstar Games of union busting. The vote will overlap with the closing submissions of the ongoing employment tribunal, which are set for November 17-18.
The deal would give workers a say over topics including pay and bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working arrangements, and generative AI policies, the IWGB said. Developer Rockstar North, which is part of GTA publisher Rockstar Games, is in Edinburgh, Scotland. If the IWGB Rockstar Game Workers Union wins the vote, it will become the biggest recognised union in the UK games industry, and, officials said, could boost unionisation efforts across the rest of the industry.
Throughout the process, Rockstar has indicated its willingness to work with staff on union recognition. Rockstar Head of Publishing Jennifer Kolbe recently told Bloomberg: “We go where the team goes. So if they want a union, they will have a union.”
Rockstar North production co-ordinator and Rockstar Game Workers Union Committee Member Shanti Easton-Steel commented: “This November, we have the chance to make gaming history not once but twice. As all our hard work, skill and creativity are experienced by GTA 6 players for the first time, our voices will now be heard for the first time too.
“For me, this vote comes down to ensuring employees at Rockstar get honesty and openness surrounding the decisions that affect them. When management choices are kept hidden, we can’t properly address issues like the gender pay gap, the uneven and ever-changing policies on overtime pay, or the concerns many co-workers hold around job security post-release.
“This is our moment to secure a window onto the decisions that shape our lives, and a seat at the table to improve them. I’m immensely proud of the games Rockstar gives its fans — I want to be equally proud of the voice Rockstar gives its staff.”
Alex Marshall, President of the IWGB Union, called the vote “just as historic as the game release.”
“But for workers at Rockstar, it is so much more personal: it is fundamentally a choice about whether you get to have a say in how your day-to-day life is organised,” he continued.
“From pay and pensions to parental leave and overtime, this agreement is a real chance to be involved in decision-making at Rockstar by becoming part of a democratic and member-led union.”
Photo by Lesley Martin / AFP via Getty Images.
Wesley is IGN’s Managing Editor. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
