- British Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer says Parliament will investigate union-busting allegations against Rockstar
- The studio fired 31 Grand Theft Auto 6 employees in October
- The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain claims Rockstar fired workers for trying to organize, but Take-Two has denied the allegations
British Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer has said the British Parliament will investigate allegations of union-busting against Rockstar Games after the studio fired 31. Grand Theft Auto 6 developers in October.
As reported by IGN, Rockstar North local MP Chris Murray stepped forward during the December 10 sitting of Parliament to inform Starmer of the matter, saying: “The video game company Rockstar in my constituency fired 31 staff last month without providing evidence or union representation. [Independent Workers Union of Great Britain] IWGB claims union busting. After meeting with Rockstar they did not assure me that they follow employment laws and I share concerns about union busting.
“Given that this Government is responsible for the biggest increase in workers’ rights in a generation,” continued Murray, “does the Prime Minister agree that all companies, regardless of profit size, must follow UK employment law and that all workers have the right to join a union?”
In response, Starmer acknowledged the matter, calling it “deeply concerning” and saying parliament ministers would investigate.
“It is a matter of deep concern,” Starmer said. “Every worker has the right to join a union and we are determined to strengthen workers’ rights and ensure that they do not face unfair consequences for being part of a union. Our ministers will look into the particular case that he [Murray] travels and will keep him updated.”
Union blasting has consequences! UK PM Keir Starmer says government will investigate @RockstarGames’ sacking of 31 union members. pic.twitter.com/4EEM9NvcR710 December 2025
MP Chris Murray shared further details in a follow-up statement to IGN about his attempts to discuss the matter with Rockstar, which included a joint meeting with Edinburgh MPs Tracy Gilbert and Scott Arthur at Rockstar North’s offices, which reportedly began with a standoff over the signing of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
“The meeting began with us MPs refusing entry unless an NDA was signed, a request they eventually withdrew after it was made clear this would not be signed,” Murray said.
“The meeting only reinforced my concerns about the process Rockstar used to dismiss so many of their employees. I was not sure their process paid much attention to UK employment law, I was not convinced this course of action was necessary and, alarmingly, I was not informed of exactly what these 31 people had done to warrant their immediate dismissal.”
After the firings back in October, the IWGB claimed that Rockstar terminated the roles to discourage workers from unionising: “This is the most ruthless act of union busting in the history of the UK games industry… We will not back down and we are not afraid – we will fight for every member to be reinstated.”
Bloomberg also reported that the employees were part of a private union chat group on Discord and all were either union members or trying to organize at Rockstar.
Rockstar and parent company Take-Two denied the allegations were due to workers’ attempts to organize, and instead to employees leaking company secrets, including “confidential information.”
“Last week, we took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, a violation of our company policies,” the statement read.
“This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or participate in union activities.”
GTA 6‘s delay came shortly after the layoffs, and the game is now expected to launch on November 19, 2026.
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