CWA Canada Game Workers Reach Settlement With Ubisoft

Last week, members of the Game and Media Workers Guild of Canada (CWA Canada Local 30111) ended a months-long battle with game developer Ubisoft over its decision to shutter its operation in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Members voted overwhelmingly to accept the terms of a settlement, the specifics of which have not been made public due to a non-disclosure agreement. The company announced the decision to close the Halifax office in January shortly after workers there organized their union.

“It came as a surprise to all of us and to the front-line managers as we were in the middle of many ongoing and new projects, and doing great work,” former Ubisoft Halifax employee Jon Huffman said in a statement from CWA Canada. “We are extremely grateful to our union for negotiating this package for us.”

“The success of the negotiation was directly attributable to the solidarity our members showed, their resolve in holding Ubisoft to account, the collecting and sharing of information, and remaining steadfast in advocating for their rights as unionized workers,” said President of CWA-SCA Canada Carmel Smyth.

France-based Ubisoft is one of the world’s biggest video game developers, employing 17,000 people globally, including over 4,000 in Toronto, Winnipeg, and four cities in Quebec. President Smyth acknowledged that, though not an easy negotiation, Ubisoft respected the union and acted in good faith to reach a resolution.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.