CD Projekt Red Union Formation following multiple rounds of layoffs, has created a buzz in the gaming world. The union’s name is polish gamedev workers union. Lets have a look at what triggered the events and what to expect in the coming days. I am personally invested to be honest as this is a massive development in a space that lacks any union at all.
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Game dev workers union who started the union
The initiative to form the union was led by Lev Ki and Paweł Myszka. They have founded the Polish Gamedev Workers Union. The union is formed as a response to the 2023 wave of layoffs when approximately 9% of the workforce, roughly 100 people, were let go. In their website if I am citing it correctly, it is mentioned to be a part of the OZZ Inicjatywa Pracownicza trade union.
Industry-Wide Impact because of cd projekt red union
The union is not limited to CDPR; it also includes other professionals in the Polish video game industry. This suggests that the move could have broader implications for labor relations within the gaming industry in Poland.
As mentioned in an exclusive interview to IGN the creators of the union mentioned the following:-
“This event created a tremendous amount of stress and insecurity, affecting our mental health and leading to the creation of this union in response,” Polish Gamedev Workers Union said. “Having a union means having more security, transparency, better protection, and a stronger voice in times of crisis.
“The above shows how employers tend to view their interests to be in conflict with those of their employees. While employees are the ones creating value in this arrangement, they lack any decision power in company-structure-related matters. That is why we need to organise to enter those situations on equal footing.
“We believe that the mass lay-offs are a danger to the gamedev industry and we believe that unionising is a way for us to preserve the industry’s potential.”
Response from CDPR to formation for the union
Even after their successful soft relaunch of the game via their DLC and update 2.0, they still defend their decision to fire staff which is expected response from any corporation.
Following is their statement to IGN:
“We have been informed about the intention to form a trade union covering gamedev companies, including our company. We will act in accordance with law and comply with legal obligations that might arise from that situation.
“At the same it’s worth mentioning that the voice of RED’s team is already represented by the RED Team Representatives (RTR), which is a democratically elected body representing all employees and independent of the management board. We have been working with them for over two years now and we will continue to do so to keep our work environment transparent, safe and healthy.”
Conclusion
So what is the impact expected from this unprecedented step. Well this not only helps the developers in the Polish industry but also hopefully becomes a catalyst world wide. We have seen so many horror stories of toxic workplace being improperly handled.
Having a strong union allows basic human rights to be enforced in organizations that have an awful record. Just look into what some developers had done in the recent past you will know what I mean.