Rockstar faces legal action from UK union after firing more than 30 employees last week: 'We are confident that what we’ve seen here is plain and simple union busting'

Protestors and smoke outside Take-Two's office. — (Image credit: IWGB)

The Independent Workers of Great Britain has launched legal action against Grand Theft Auto 6 developer Rockstar Games over what it says was an unfair termination of employees "that we believe amount to victimisation and collective dismissal linked to trade union activity."

The action was filed after Rockstar refused to meet and "resolve the matter through negotiation," the IWGB's legal team said in a statement. Instead, Rockstar has maintained the termination of the employees it fired last week in a manner the union described as "unacceptable and unlawful."

"Accordingly, we have now issued formal legal claims against Rockstar on behalf of the Claimants. Our members allege that Rockstar’s conduct constitutes trade union victimisation and blacklisting."

"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," IWGB president Alex Marshall said in today's announcement. "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 organised workers—we will not be intimidated."

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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