- UK 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 the employees for attempting to unionize, but Take-Two has denied the accusations
UK Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer has said that the UK Parliament will investigate union-busting allegations against Rockstar Games after the studio fired 31 Grand Theft Auto 6 developers in October.
As reported by IGN, Rockstar North’s local MP Chris Murray came forward during Parliament’s session on December 10 to inform Starmer of the matter, saying: “The video games company Rockstar in my constituency last month fired 31 employees without providing evidence or union representation. The [Independent Workers Union of Great Britain] IWGB alleges union busting. Having met Rockstar they failed to reassure me they are following employment law and I share concerns about union busting.
“Given this government is responsible for the biggest increase in workers rights in a generation,” Murray continued, “does the Prime Minister agree all companies regardless of profit size must follow UK employment law and all workers have the right to join a union?”
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In response, Starmer acknowledged the case, calling it “deeply concerning,” stating Parliament’s ministers would look into the matter.
“It’s a deeply concerning case,” Starmer said. “Every worker has the right to join a trade union and we’re determined to strengthen workers rights and ensure they don’t face unfair consequences for being part of a union. Our ministers will look into the particular case that he [Murray] raises and will keep him updated.”
Union busting has consequences! UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the government will look into @RockstarGames’s dismissal of 31 union members. pic.twitter.com/4EEM9NvcR7December 10, 2025
MP Chris Murray shared additional information 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 as MPs refused entry unless an NDA was signed, a request they eventually withdrew after it being made clear this would not be signed,” Murray said.
“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.”
Following the layoffs back in October, IWGB claimed Rockstar terminated the roles to disrupt workers from unionizing: “This is the most ruthless act of union busting in the history of the UK games industry… We won’t back down, and we’re not scared – we will fight for every member to be reinstated.”
Bloomberg also reported that the employees were part of a private trade union chat group on Discord and were all either union members or trying to organize within Rockstar.
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Rockstar and parent company Take-Two denied accusations that they were due to workers’ attempts to unionize, and instead, because they were of 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 engage in union activities.”
GTA 6‘s delay came shortly after the firings, and the game is now expected to launch on November 19, 2026.
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