organise it. Running a union is a full time job and those passionate about starting a union want to remain game developers, so you have a catch 22 of changing job to protect the job you love.” Taylor explains those hurdles: “Starting your own union is a big endeavour. You would need to collect membership fees, submit accounts to the Certification Officer, as well as meet various criteria to be able to apply to become a union. You would also need to train people to be able to represent your members in disciplinary meetings and grievances, as well as to negotiate deals on behalf of the membership as a whole. You would need insurance to protect those you train and you need to pay lawyers to help with employment issues. In short, it seems like a lot of work when you could have your own identity within BECTU.”
Pictured above, from top: Ukie’s Jo Twist, Teazelcat’s Jodie Azhar, Amiqus’ Liz Prince, BECTU’s Naomi Taylor, TIGA’s Richard Wilson
DEALING WITH CRUNCH Whatever form it could take – and already takes – it’s impossible to deny that a games dev union would have advantages for developers. “If we’re thinking about games industry individuals, rather than companies or studios, there are definitely some who feel that forming a union would tackle some of the issues that are currently being raised regarding crunch, unpaid overtime and the workplace environment in general,” Prince says. “I understand why some feel that unionisation is the answer because some of the working practices being highlighted at the moment are far from ideal and are being reported on extensively.” Working hours would indeed be at the core of the benefits of unionisation, Azhar explains. “The standout benefit of having an organisation fight on behalf of game developers is working hours and unpaid overtime. Almost 59 per cent of game developers report working over 40 hours a week and 12 per cent over 50. While most studios don’t enforce it, many people in creative industries feel obliged to work extra hours adding extra polish to their work. Words like ‘passion’ mask the pressure and downplay the crippling side effects of unmanaged overtime.” She refers here to the fact ‘passion’ is regularly mentioned by studios as a justification for working long hours, when obviously no passion should cost you your health. “Many young people put in extra effort to prove themselves or retain their job after entering this competitive industry, and rely on colleagues to show them the standards for working. Unfortunately if those are already used to overtime these practices get propagated via workplace culture,” Azhar continues. “Having a union negotiate paid overtime would make employers take deliberate decisions on whether and when employees do
overtime, removing the emotional obligation of doing more work to improve their part of the game.” Unions could also help various issues regarding salaries, as once again working on your passion project can sometimes be used as an excuse to be underpaid. “Standardising and broadcasting salaries would benefit many employees. Most of the time salary is driven by demand, so joining a company at a critical time can drive your salary up, making it continually unfair to existing staff in the same role,” Azhar says. “Employees often feel the need to switch companies to get a higher salary as it’s more difficult to negotiate internal pay rises, or can find themselves with below average salaries because of the alleged ‘privilege’ of working on a well-known title. Negotiating is a separate skill unrelated to job capability that employees often require to get paid what they’re worth so a union negotiating on their behalf would create a far more level playing field.” TIGA’s Wilson adds that the benefits of a union would largely depend on its “nature and behaviour.” He explains: “If the union was focused on encouraging training in the workplace and working constructively with the owners and managers of the games studio then it could be beneficial.” Employers can also profit from unionisation, Taylor further says. “Employers benefit from having a more structured and organised way of communicating and consulting with their employees,” she says. “They really find out what their workers think, and in terms of making sure they are complying with UK legislation, such as health and safety regulations and the Working Time Directive, having union involvement can often help them to avoid a breach and the costs that come with that.” US AND THEM Talking about the downsides of unionisation, one answer kept coming back: the divisive aspect of trade unions, which we very much felt already at MCV as we tried to reach out to people to brainstorm on the topic. “Unions potentially create tension between employer and employees through a more ‘us and them’ relationship,” Azhar says. “Game development can create strong bonds between employees, including management, especially in small and mid-sized companies, and staff may not want to add an extra barrier or be seen as a trouble maker.” She rightly points out that those “issues are not specific to a game development union” though and “can be dispelled with research into successful existing unions.” Richard Wilson adds: “If the union adopted an antagonistic attitude to the business then it could be divisive and damaging. Some developers might be concerned that a union in the video games sector could
36 | MCV 942 December 2018
MCV942.unionisation.indd 3
28/11/2018 21:11