The layoff of a number of QA employees at Activision Blizzard caused riots and strikes at the company last year and even stimulated the formation of a union. Now Activision Blizzard has given in in favor of the employees.
Activision Blizzard had a lot of flings in the past year, including a lawsuit from California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing for sexist corporate culture and discrimination. When some contract workers from Raven Software’s QA department were to be laid off, the colleagues gave up and took to the streets to protest the layoffs. This even resulted in the formation of the Game Workers Alliance in January.
Now the topic finally seems to be off the table, at least to a large extent, and the employees can report a complete success. Activision Blizzard has announced that all temporary and contingent QA employees at Activision and Blizzard will be on full-time contracts effective July 1 of this year. In addition, the hourly wage will be increased to at least 20 US dollars. Employees also receive full company benefits and are eligible for the bonus plan.
No small decision, after all, according to Activision Blizzard, this affects almost 1,100 employees, who of course now have reason to be happy. Only for the employees of Raven Software there is a catch due to the union laws in the USA – they will not benefit from the salary increase for the time being, since the union is still organizing at the moment and has not yet been officially recognized. This is to prevent union votes from being influenced by company payments. And even after recognition, an increase would only be possible after negotiation with the union.