As Rockstar looks set to deliver what is probably going to be the biggest video game launch of all-time this November, it probably doesn't need a court case to be dealing with as well. Sadly, it's landed one, thanks to allegations of union busting brought by fired employees, who are being represented by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), and won't be letting these accusations slide. If you're not aware of the whole story, it began back in November last year, with 34 employees being fired from the company.
Discord messages revealed the reason behind the firings, which the IWGB claims to be an act of union busting. The case even caught the attention of the UK Prime Minister, and has only grown since then. Now, as per Game Developer, Rockstar has faced a setback, as a UK employment tribunal has sided against the studio, allowing the IWGB and the former employees to bring blacklisting allegations to the trial, set to take place from the 10th of September to the 15th of October this year.
The IWGB defines blacklisting as the "practice of compiling information about workers involved in union activity in order to discriminate against them," as per Game Developer. Rockstar wanted to remove claims of blacklisting from the case to narrow the scope of the trial, something that the IWGB has not allowed to happen.
Ousted union workers can bring the allegation that they were fired for engaging in union activity to the trial this September/October. Ellie Dunstan, one of the sacked employees, said that this is a "huge moment" for the case. "Our case will now be heard in full and put to the test as it should be. The world will get to see for itself the evidence as to what happened last October," she said.