Some 700 unionised Ubisoft employees downed (development) tools in France, walking off the job in a day of organised strike action. Following the collapse of annual salary negotiations, on Valentine's Day, workers from Ubisoft Paris, Montpellier, Lyon, Annecy, and Bordeaux took part, taking to the streets in the time-honoured French tradition.
The strike was orchestrated by the French game workers union STJV (Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Vidéo), announced at the beginning of February after negotiations with management failed to achieve the desired results (thanks Eurogamer). STJV alleges that Ubisoft offered wage "increases "below inflation for the second year in a row", declaring that the company was hiding behind a "purely arbitrary cost reduction policy".
STJV documented the strike on social media, recording that almost 700 employees turned out. It remains to be seen how the powers that be respond to the developing situation or whether further will become necessary. The industry remains exceedingly volatile, with employees increasingly fearful of job security and more chaos expected as the year continues.
What do you think middle management does while staff are striking? Do they wander empty offices, trying to look useful? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source twitter.com, via eurogamer.net]
Comments 28
"What do you think middle management does while staff are striking? Do they wander empty offices, trying to look useful? "
They keep working. They are actually very busy and will likely be happy to have a slightly lighter workload until they are slammed again.
Though I feel like Ubisoft is about to become 700 employees lighter after this.
The French Revolution
Lemme guess, they didn't make enough money to pay the employees but the CEO got a nice bonus?
You'd think that with all the micro transactions they riddle their games with there would be enough to pay them and still have change left over.
In these recent years of rapidly rising inflation, when the key controllable cost in most businesses is the people, below inflation salary increases are more common than ever as a means of cost control. That doesn't make them right necessarily, but they are an unfortunate reality right now.
Well if someone knows how to put on a strike it is the French.
The French do love to strike. But then I can’t exactly begrudge them that, you can’t say it hasn’t worked over the years.
Bit late reporting something that happened a week ago!
@tameshiyaku couldn’t had said it better myself 👍🏻
The employees should get a paycheck cut for hindering the development process.
The managers should get a bonus for having a stressful time watching those disobedient employees strike.
Hope everything turns well for the managers.
@tameshiyaku Even though it doesnt take much to get the French to strike the strikers generally what they want. France is one of the few countries where striking and protests actually work.
It is a weird position for Ubi to be caught in. We know Avatar, Skull and Bones and PoP are sales disappointments which means their financials aren't looking too hot. Also, except for AC I think every other franchise they have has had downward trends in recent years.
This year they have Star Wars Outlaws and maybe a new Major AC game so maybe they'll have some hits.
I'm curious if they lay off people or shutter an office or two to cut costs in the mean time.
Lost faith in Ubisoft since they canned Fenyx 2.
As an Englishman this is hard to say... but... I stand with the French gamedevs!
Jokes aside, when the French decide to strike or protest they usually do a cracking job of it and I wish them a good victory against Ubi corporate
At least they aren't blocking roads and transportation like all those idiots (SNCF, RATP, farmers, Air France, etc.) who don't even know who the strike is against and end up pissing off everyone
Strikers Creed : Paris
Ah, striking, the French national sport...
Expected this, Ubisoft fell off hard and an acquisition is bound to happen soon which will probably be Tencent.
Haven't had a pay rise in years and Ireland is the most expensive country to live in across the E.U. We just get on with things here.
@Arisen very unlikely, doesn't matter what you say about ubisoft they are still a very large manageable company, and after recent acquiring the stream.rights from the blizzard/Microsoft deal,, sorry to tell you Ubisoft are going nowhere soon, strikes or not
If you're a worker, join a union.
@AndroidBango I guess it depends on where you are. Union dues (which are not optional) very often go towards a union that acts in the best interest of the union leaders, not necessarily the members. This could also include large political donations, which is especially a drag if they go towards a party/candidate that you don't support. I live and work in a "right to work" jurisdiction, and I get raises either by merit or by making lateral moves in my industry. The returns have been much better than my unionized counterparts. Invest in yourself by taking as much training and getting certified in as many disciplines as you can. It means less PlayStation time, but it pays off in the long run.
probably wiggling their thumbs trying to make sense of the code they are looking, realising they haven't actually done any real coding years or art creation or testing or aka any real work in years.
@breakneck If they do, it unlikely to be in France, where sacking people is hard, an expensive and time consuming.
@knowles2 I was thinking their Canadian studios or maybe Singapore or Shanghai
More of the game industry needs to unionize
@IntrepidWombat in my union our recent successful strike action has restored ÂŁ10k a year to my pension when I retire. Worth every penny of my subs and will lead to plenty more PlayStation time.
And whatever jurisdiction you're in, when you run into trouble or layoffs come, not being a member leaves you much more vulnerable. Besides, I believe in collective power of workers rather than individualism.
@AndroidBango That is fantastic, great news about your pension. I think our life experiences color our beliefs - I have the opposite belief. Perhaps it's cultural, but nonetheless, always a pleasure to hear from someone who thinks differently.
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