On Wednesday two Edinburgh MPs wore T shirts to show their support for the 31 former Rockstar North employees who were dismissed last year.
Tracy Gilbert MP and Chris Murray MP both stood outside the offices of Rockstar North on Holyrood Road wearing the T-shirts produced by the IWGB union to raise cash for the staff’s legal fund.
Rockstar North sacked the employees last year along with other colleagues in Dundee, Lincoln and in Canada. Employees say they were denied union representation as they were called into meetings on their own where they were dismissed for ‘distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum’. Rockstar maintains this was unrelated to union activity.
Since last year more than 220 former and current Rockstar staff have signed an open letter calling for the group of employees to be reinstated.
Mr Murray said that hundreds of his constituents have contacted him about the matter, saying they find it unlawful.
In November last year, Chris Murray met with IWGB union to learn more about the dismissal from their perspective, but to also understand the personal circumstances of many of ex-Rockstar staff members involved.
Chris explained, “this has impacted many residents in varying ways, all have lost their livelihood, all have lost a role which they have invested a combined 200 years of service to, with some residents even now forced to leave the UK due to the removal of their visa’s sponsor. The consequences of this decision by Rockstar on so many families cannot be understated.”
In December, alongside Tracy Gilbert and Scott Arthur, Chris requested and arranged a meeting with Rockstar to seek assurances that UK employment law was followed and to seek a definitive answer behind the motivations around the decision.
However, Chris reported “the meeting only entrenched my concerns about the process Rockstar used to dismiss so many of their staff members. I was not assured their process paid robust attention to UK employment law, I was not convinced that this course of action was necessary, and alarmingly, I did not leave informed on exactly what these 31 people had done to warrant their immediate dismissal. The meeting began with us as MPs refused entry unless an NDA was signed, a request they eventually withdrew after it being made clear this would not be signed”.
Chris Murray asked the then Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, if all companies must follow the law and that employees must have the right to join a union. The Prime Minister said the case was “deeply concerning”, and confirmed that all employees may join a union. This was followed up by a ministerial investigation.
Chris said outside Rockstar North HQ: “Putting on this t-shirt is a small thing, but it’s a visible way of saying my constituents are not fighting this alone. ‘‘The issues written into this case are pressing, and they raise bigger questions that go well beyond the actions of one powerful company. How do we make sure workers in growing industries can organise and raise concerns collectively, without fear of losing their livelihood overnight? These are questions for government, for the industry, and for all of us who believe in fair work.”
Standing alongside him, Tracy said: “I was proud to stand alongside Chris and show my solidarity with the former Rockstar workers. Whatever the outcome of the legal process, the concerns raised by these dismissals are serious, and it is right that the workers involved can have their case properly heard. No one should feel that joining a trade union, organising collectively, or standing up for their rights at work could put their livelihood at risk. The right to join and be represented by a trade union is fundamental, and workers must be able to exercise that right without fear.”
