"Unacceptable and unlawful" - GTA 6 developer Rockstar hit with legal claim from UK trade union following alleged unfair dismissal of staff

The UK trade union Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has issued a legal claim against Rockstar following what it believes is the unfair dismissal of staff.
As we reported earlier this month, the Grand Theft Auto maker has been accused of union busting after it fired 30-40 Rockstar staff who were purportedly involved in union activities. Rockstar claims they were fired for gross misconduct.
Now the IWGB is fighting back with a legal claim, with members alleging these dismissals "amount to victimisation and collective dismissal linked to trade union activity". Rockstar has declined to meet with IWGB, leading to this legal claim.
"We are representing employees who were dismissed by Rockstar Games in circumstances that we believe amount to victimisation and collective dismissal linked to trade union activity," said the IWGB's legal team in a statement shared with Eurogamer.
"Despite our representation and attempts to meet with Rockstar to resolve the matter through negotiation, Rockstar have declined and persisted to terminate members of the union in a manner that is unacceptable and unlawful. Accordingly, we have now issued formal legal claims against Rockstar on behalf of the Claimants."
Added Alex Marshall, IWGB President: "We are confident that what we've seen here is plain and simple union busting, and we will mount a full legal defence with our expert group of caseworkers, legal officers and barristers. Employers like Rockstar would do well to understand that private spaces such as trade union Discord servers have protections, and that their company's contractual clauses do not supersede UK law.
"This case stands as a warning to any employer in the games industry and beyond who thinks they are able to act with impunity against organised workers - we will not be intimidated."
Following initial reports of the dismissals, Take-Two spokesperson Alan Lewis told Bloomberg the developers were fired for "gross misconduct, and for no other reason", adding "[Take-Two] fully support[s] Rockstar's ambitions and approach".
People Make Games recently met with the former employees during a demonstration outside Rockstar offices in Edinburgh.
The employees had been in the process of forming a union, The Rockstar Games Workers Union, to push for better working conditions ahead of the release of Grand Theft Auto 6. Just over ten percent of the Rockstar workforce in the UK had been recruited, a crucial criteria for a union in the UK to apply for statutory recognition by the government.
Earlier this month Rockstar delayed GTA 6 once again. It's now set for release next November.