Game Workers Unite UK goes official

Game Workers Unite has officially announced its UK branch on Friday, making it the first and only trade union solely dedicated to workers in the games industry and defending the rights.

Game Workers Unite UK is a branch of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) but will operate independently and will be led by workers (not employers). It is affiliated to Game Workers Unite, a grassroots organisation that works on a global scale.

In the official announcement, Game Workers Unite UK said the new union will be campaigning to:

• End the institutionalised practice of excessive / unpaid overtime
• Improve diversity and inclusion at all levels
• Support abused or harassed workers
• Secure a steady and living wage for all

Talking to Tech Crunch, Dec Peach, one of the founders of Game Workers Unite UK, commented: “For as long as I can remember it has been considered normal for games workers to endure zero-hours contracts, excessive unpaid overtime and even sexism and homophobia as the necessary price to pay for the privilege of working in the industry. Now, as part of the IWGB, we will have the tools to fix this broken sector and create an ethical industry where it’s not only big game companies that thrive, but workers as well.”

Those who are interested in joining can do so on this page, with membership fees starting at £8 per month. To learn more about Game Workers Unite UK, you can head to the union’s FAQ.

We touched upon the creation of Game Workers Unite UK in a recent investigation about how trade unions were increasingly under discussion as a solution as crunch continues to be the bugbear of working conditions in the games industry. Click here to read it.