There have been so many reports in the past few years about bad working conditions for video game makers, who often have to sacrifice way too much to keep up with unrealistic expectations and deadlines. Therefore it's nice to be able to report about the opposite every now and then.
Swedish giant Paradox Interactive has just announced that it's about to sign collective bargaining agreement with labour unions SACO and Unionen. This will guarantee the employees better pay, different benefits (insurances and extra vacation) as well as other things. The human resources officer at Paradox Interactive, Marina Hedman, had the following comment to make regarding this deal:
"An organization of our size has different needs, and we must ensure that our employees continue to feel valued and empowered to shape our company, even as our structure shifts towards larger teams and projects.
We're proud, both as a Swedish company and as a member of the games industry, to add our name to the roster of companies who support unionization."
This is surely great news and we hope more developers will follow suit.