German gaming workers form new association at devcom

Home
»
Stories
»
2024
»
August

GLOBAL INDUSTRY NEWS

Qatar Airways In Talks To Buy 20% Of Virgin Australia - Airline Ratings

Global Industry News

German gaming workers form new association at devcom

UNI Global Union | UNI Global Union

By Sky Industry News

Aug 20, 2024

German workers in the gaming industry, alongside their union ver.di, a UNI affiliate, have issued a series of demands at devcom, Europe’s largest electronic game developer conference currently taking place in Cologne.

Video game workers in Germany and globally have been organizing for humane hours, job stability, decent pay, and respect. ver.di is using devcom to reinforce its ongoing push around workers’ major issues and to launch the Game Devs Round Table (GDRT), a worker-led association aimed at changing the industry.

“To stop merely complaining about peak workloads, harassment and opaque decision-making, employees in the games industry have actively organized the GDRT within ver.di. Together, our goal is to improve working conditions significantly. We advocate for fair wages, collective agreements, extended notice periods and gender equality. The industry urgently needs to rethink its approach,” said union secretary Matthias Grzegorczyk.

Get the Newsletter

Sign-up to receive weekly round up of news from Sky Industry News

By submitting, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By providing your phone number you are opting in and consenting to receive recurring SMS/MMS messages, including automated texts, to that number from our short code. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to end. SMS opt-in will not be sold, rented, or shared.

Through the GDRT, workers have outlined six key demands:

1. Fair wages: Despite record profits in the industry, employees’ wages are stagnating and not keeping pace with inflation. Workers therefore demand annual salary adjustments and fair compensation.

2. Collective agreement: A collective agreement transparently and bindingly regulates working conditions such as wages, vacation days and working hours. The aim is to establish such agreements step by step within companies and eventually across the entire German games industry.

3. Working hours: Overtime should always be voluntary; accepting or declining overtime should not disadvantage workers. Employees should be able to decide whether they take overtime as payment or additional vacation days. In the long term, employers must reduce working hours while maintaining full pay.

4. Transparency: Regular information about the state of companies' finances and projects is necessary. Early involvement in decision-making processes is demanded to best support outcomes.

5. Contract standards: Fixed-term contracts and long probation periods create insecurity. Transparent contracts that allow for a good work-life balance and greater flexibility are demanded along with longer notice periods and protection after project completions.

6. Gender equality: The industry currently disadvantages families and women. Equal opportunities for advancement, fair pay, flexible working hours are demanded to combat systemic discrimination; victims of abuse must be protected while perpetrators held accountable.

UNI Global Union stands with ver.di as part of its worldwide push to help game workers build power on the job.

Karri Lybeck, Senior Coordinator and Organizer for UNI ICTS Tech & Games said:

“We are standing together for an industry where every game developer has a collective agreement; where fair salaries balanced work hours; equal equality are the norm not exception Organizing justice main story line.”