A worker fired by the makers of Grand Theft Auto has said he believed employees were put on a “watch list” after signing a petition about remote working.
Dayne Oram told an employment tribunal in Glasgow examining whether Rockstar Games unlawfully fired ۳۱ employees for trade union activity on Friday that he thought the company started keeping an eye on a group of workers after the petition was sent to leadership in ۲۰۲۳.
Rockstar, which disputes the claims, says Oram and his colleagues were dismissed for gross misconduct after confidential company information was shared, not because of trade union activity membership or activity.
The workers had been helping to make Grand Theft Auto VI, which is set for release on ۱۹ November and will probably be among the biggest launches in gaming history. The production for the game, which has reportedly generated more than $۳bn (£۲.۲۷bn) in preorders, is led from the company’s Edinburgh office Rockstar North.
Much of the case relies on what was shared in a Discord forum, used by about ۳۰۰ Rockstar employees to discuss the company. Oram was involved in setting up the forum and helped moderate it, which is where Rockstar says sensitive information was shared and discussed.
Oram told the tribunal that discussions on the forum could “get a bit out of hand”. Thomas Cordrey, representing Rockstar at the tribunal, read Oram the forum rules requiring workers to remain “professional and constructive” when posting. Cordrey suggested that the rules had been “routinely broken”.
Cordrey read out a number of Discord posts that where he suggested that employees were making disparaging remarks about the company and management, including messages in which one was called “cowardly corporate f****” and another was called a “c***”.
Oram told the tribunal that he would probably “remake” some of the moderation decisions if he had the chance to do so again, but said moderators did not want to “over-police” the channel.
Oram also said he believed that there was a connection between the list of names who signed the ۲۰۲۳ petition about remote working and the eventual firings in ۲۰۲۵. But Cordrey questioned whether this was really the case when ۱۴۱ of ۱۵۴ people who signed it were not fired.
“It was maybe the start of them keeping an eye on things,” Oram told the tribunal.
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The case is expected to last about six weeks, with testimony from Rockstar Games witnesses set for October. The company remains in talks with current workers, who hope official union recognition can be secured before the release of GTA VI.
In total, ۳۴ Rockstar workers were fired last year, including three in Canada who are not taking part in the tribunal. Of the ۳۱ who were based in Scotland, ۲۳ are involved in the case and are being represented by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain.
A spokesperson for Rockstar Games said: “Rockstar Games’ position has been clear and consistent throughout.
“Individuals across the UK and Canada were dismissed for gross misconduct following the sharing of confidential company information, not because of alleged trade union membership or activity. We reject the claims and will defend them vigorously before the tribunal,” the said.
The tribunal in Glasgow continues before the judge Lucy Wiseman.
