Setback for ex-Rockstar employees: Judge rejects continued salary payment
Several fired ex-employees of Rockstar accuse the studio of wanting to prevent unionization with their dismissal. Rockstar, however, holds a different view.
(Image: Rockstar Games)
The legal dispute between several dismissed employees of Rockstar Games and the game studio has begun in the United Kingdom. An initial ruling plays into Rockstar's hands: an employment judge has rejected the temporary continued salary payment demanded by the dismissed employees. Her reasoning: It is not very likely that the ex-employees could convince a court that the dismissals were due to their attempt to form a union.
Last October, Rockstar dismissed 31 employees from the United Kingdom. The studio behind the upcoming “GTA 6” accused them of sharing internal information in a large Discord chat, which also included individuals not employed by Rockstar. The dismissed employees see their dismissal as being based on their attempts to form a union, which is why the disputed Discord chat was about.
Both sides express confidence
The core of the dispute is therefore the question: Was it justified to lay off the employees? Or is Rockstar simply engaging in union busting? The first ruling by the British employment judge does not definitively answer this question. Nevertheless, Rockstar Games is satisfied, Bloomberg reports. “We regret that we were put in a position where dismissals became necessary,” a spokesperson told the business newspaper. However, the employment judge's ruling confirmed this decision.
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In the court proceedings, the dismissed Rockstar employees are supported by the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain. The president of the union remains confident even after the ruling, speaking to Bloomberg: “We have emerged from the hearing more confident than ever that a full and substantive court hearing will assess Rockstar's calculated attempt to crush a union not only as unjust but also as unlawful.”
According to Bloomberg, the judge found on the one hand that some dismissed employees had posted very little in the Discord group. At the same time, she acknowledged that current information about “GTA 6” was also discussed in the group, even though some group members were no longer employed by Rockstar Games.
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