A union has filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Labour Board, saying video game maker Ubisoft should be penalized for its decision last week to close its Halifax production studio.
The Canadian branch of the Communications Workers of America is accusing Paris-based Ubisoft of shutting down the studio and eliminating 71 jobs to block a successful bid to unionize most of the workers in the office.
The sudden closure was announced three weeks after CWA Canada was certified to represent 61 workers at Ubisoft Halifax, most of whom were supporting a mobile version of the company’s best-known franchise, Assassin’s Creed.
Ubisoft has denied the closure was related to the union drive, saying the real reasons were declining revenue and a global corporate restructuring that started two years ago.
But CWA Canada issued a statement today saying the sudden decision took employees by surprise, which the union said was unlike previously announced cutbacks that came after notice was given and financial evidence was shared.
The union says it will continue to fight for better compensation and new jobs for those laid off on Jan. 7.
“Ubisoft took $12 million in taxpayer money from the government of Nova Scotia to nurture a generation of talent, and to build a tech industry,” CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth said in a statement. “Now it’s walking away without so much as an apology.”
The union said its lawyers contacted Ubisoft last week to demand information related to the company’s claim that the shutdown was based solely on financial hardship.
“It’s against the law to stop workers from joining a union in Canada, but the slap on the wrist employers often get is not enough to stop this,” Smyth said. “The penalty should reflect the reality of intentional corporate bullying.”
The union says labour boards should be granted the power to force employers to reopen for a year and help find other work for staff, or pay laid-off workers three years’ salary.
CWA Canada describes itself as Canada’s only all-media union, representing 6,000 workers at the CBC, The Canadian Press, newspapers, tech companies, digital media, video gaming and other companies.
