Tech workers are responding to widespread layoffs and inadequate working conditions with strikes,\u00a0protests, and unionizing efforts\u00a0across the globe.\u00a0In Austin, Texas, a group of workers made history\u00a0last week\u00a0by\u00a0becoming the first\u00a0Alphabet\u00a0subcontracted\u00a0employees to\u00a0go on strike. The YouTube Music strikers, who are staffed by Cognizant, recently voted to unionize,\u00a0and according to Alphabet Workers Union \u201care paid as little as $19 dollars an hour.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
In France, developers from Ubisoft held the company’s first-ever strike after management announced the cancellation of three games due to worsening economic outlook, which the company\u2019s CEO blamed on workers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
Union membership\u00a0in tech\u00a0has\u00a0also\u00a0risen significantly in Sweden, with campaigns in Spotify\u00a0led by\u00a0Unionen. In\u00a0German union\u00a0ver.di\u00a0is\u00a0also\u00a0growing its presence in the industry with campaigns to organize workers\u2019\u00a0councils in Spotify, SAP and TikTok.\u00a0\u00a0In Spain, UGT and CCOO rushed to\u00a0demand that Twitter respects Spanish\u00a0labour\u00a0law after Elon Must announced\u00a0his plan to layoff\u00a0over 80\u00a0per\u00a0cente\u00a0of\u00a0the platform\u2019s\u00a0staff in Spain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
UGT\u2019s General Secretary Pepe \u00c1lvarez made clear with a tweet that the unions won\u2019t sit\u00a0on the sidelines: \u201c@TwitterSpainSL\u00a0is firing its 26 Spanish workers by mail. In our country a collective dismissal requires opening a consultation period, negotiating 15 days and communicating it to the\u00a0labour\u00a0authority. Not doing so makes the dismissals VOID.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
These actions highlight tech workers’ growing concerns about job security, the impact of layoffs on their livelihoods, and broader issues such as workplace diversity and tech companies’ responsibility to support their workers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
\u201cIn this wave of inhumane layoffs, workers in the tech industry are showing the world that unions are must-have tools to promote fairness in the workplace,\u201d said Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union. \u201cUnions serve as a firewall against arbitrary and unjust actions of employers and help ensure fair compensation and benefits for all employees. By standing together and advocating for workers’ rights, tech workers can play an essential role in creating a more just and equitable future for all.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
Video game workers have also spoken out in recent years against working conditions in the industry, including low pay, insufficient benefits, rampant use of mandatory overtime or \u201ccrunch,\u201d and workplace cultures rife with harassment and discrimination. Workers have also begun to form and join unions, including at Nexon and Smilegate in South Korea, Paradox Interactive in Sweden, Ubisoft studios in France, and, most recently, Activision Blizzard\u2019s Raven Software in the U.S. Invited by UNI Global Union, representatives from video game workers unions from 20 countries met in Berlin last summer to discuss international efforts to mobilize in a global campaign to raise standards and ensure safe working hours and conditions worldwide.<\/p>\r\n
According to a survey of video game workers across 29 countries by UNI Global Union\u202flow pay (66%), excessive work hours (43%), inadequate benefits (43%), and workplace discrimination and\/or sexual harassment (35%), among other work-related issues, are the driving forces behind employee dissatisfaction and their desire to form a union in the workplace. The vast majority of respondents (79%) expressed support or strong support for unionizing their workplace.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tech workers are responding to widespread layoffs and inadequate working conditions with strikes,\u00a0protests, and unionizing efforts\u00a0across the globe.\u00a0In Austin, Texas, a group of workers made history\u00a0last week\u00a0by\u00a0becoming the first\u00a0Alphabet\u00a0subcontracted\u00a0employees to\u00a0go on strike. The YouTube Music strikers, who are staffed by Cognizant, recently voted to unionize,\u00a0and according to Alphabet Workers Union \u201care paid as little as $19 dollars an hour.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":9530,"template":"","categories":[41],"global-issues":[],"sectors":[12],"cross-sector-groups":[],"workers-rights":[],"regions":[91,87,86,85,84],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-9526","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","sectors-ict-related-services","regions-sweden","regions-uni-africa","regions-uni-americas","regions-uni-asia-pacific","regions-uni-europa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n