Striking Ubisoft workers say “game over” to company’s refusal to negotiate
17.10.24
Ubisoft employees across France walked off the job 15-17 October, protesting management’s refusal to negotiate on two key issues: remote work flexibility and compensation that haven’t kept pace with inflation. This strike, organized by members of UNI affiliate STJV, follows a series of broken promises from the company. The union cites Ubisoft’s continued imposition of arbitrary decisions without worker input.
Workers at the company previously struck in February demanding fair wages.
The latest flash point is management’s decision to enforce a three-day-per-week office mandate by April 2025, despite years of successful remote work. Many employees have built their lives around flexible work arrangements. For example, at Ubisoft’s Paris studio, over 10 per cent of people are fully remote, and another quarter work remotely over 60 per cent of the time.
This change, workers argue, will disrupt lives and worsen already difficult conditions. Working remotely helped many employees cope with their low salaries by moving farther from the office to pay lower rent. The STJV members are calling for a formal agreement on remote work, one that was negotiated in good faith and has due process for employees.
Compensation is another major point of contention. In the lead up to February’s strike, Ubisoft offered raises below the cost of living. This summer, the company refused to budge from a sub-standard profit sharing proposal, yet again ignoring workers’ call for fair compensation. The union is demanding a restoration of the profit-sharing at a 60 per cent objective as well as the end of the gender pay gap and a higher increase in low salaries.
“A key issue underlying both demands is Ubisoft’s refusal to negotiate in good faith,” said Pierre-Étienne Marx, STJV delegate at Ubisoft. “Workers report constant delays, a lack of transparency and a top-down approach that leaves them without a voice, creating chaos and disruption to our work and our lives. At the core, this is a lack of trust in the workers who have held strong at their jobs during a pandemic and under deteriorating conditions.”
The union pledges to continue to take workplace actions until management begins to negotiate seriously.
Karri Lybeck, Senior Coordinator for UNI ICTS/Tech & Games, said, “UNI is in full solidarity with Ubisoft workers in France, and the company’s remote work decree is yet another example of why video game workers worldwide are organizing and advocating for collective agreements. It’s time for employees in this industry to no longer be at the mercy of management’s whims.”
UNI is helping unite tech and video game unions around the world to transform the their industries.
