On Thursday, October 1st, we made an unpleasant discovery : the union representative for the STJV section at Quantic Dream was suspended without pay and summoned to a disciplinary meeting with the goal to fire him for a supposed « faute grave ».
A tense situation at Quantic Dream
As the brutal and unjust redundancy plan is being rolled out, the STJV section is leading a day-to-day fight to ensure that the negotiated plan is being applied correctly, and that workers actually get their hard-earned benefits and rights.
In the meantime, the STJV is back at the negotiation table for the annual mandatory negotiation on « Profit sharing ». These negotiations notably focus on sharing a 6 million Euros budget the company set aside for profit sharing in 2022.
In the studio at large, the noxious and anxiety-inducing atmosphere created by the heads of the company through their strategy and communication lingers on. It is important to keep in mind that the studio executives are solely responsible for the company’s situation, and the redundancy plan they came up with. The conflict which arose to gain decent layoff packages, and involved strikes, would not have been necessary without their offensive and contemptuous behaviour towards workers. Those workers made the wealth of the studio and its owners.
From interference to union busting
For months, and all along the negotiations of the redundancy plan, the heads of the company never stopped commenting and criticizing the STJV’s actions. They used the company’s means of communication to call out to workers, while also denying these means for the STJV. They even went as far as censoring elected worker representatives at the beginning of negotiations.
These seemingly endless communications from David de Gruttola and Guillaume de Fondaumière, spread over pages and pages of text, are filled with purposefully vague statements, outright lies and accusations serving only one goal: to attack the STJV’s (and its members’) credibility. These communications show how they are restless, and trying to keep the upper hand by distancing themselves from reality.
The STJV demanded that the company cease these union busting tactics, relying on article L.2141-7 in the Code du Travail. Not only they didn’t stop, but the company even decided to escalate.
It’s in this context that the STJV union representative is suspended without pay and summoned to a disciplinary meeting with the goal to fire him for a supposed « faute grave ».
The company executives are accusing our representative of publishing a verbatim report from a negotiation meeting inside the company. They justify the suspension with other communications from the STJV section.
Here is their justification, in French:
« Ces faits interviennent par ailleurs dans un contexte plus général dans lequel plusieurs collaborateurs nous ont alertés sur le caractère agressif, intimidant et anxiogène de vos communications ainsi que sur leurs conséquences sur leurs conditions de travail et leur état de santé.
Compte tenu de la nature et de la gravité de votre comportement, de sa répétition et, surtout, de ses conséquences déjà constatées sur la santé et la sécurité de plusieurs collaborateurs, votre maintien dans l’entreprise pendant la durée de la procédure n’est pas possible. »
We, however, consider that being transparent with our fellow workers, exposing the executives’ methods and denouncing their violence are integral parts of our union tools and duties. None of these actions are illegal in France, and none of them could be used against a union or its representatives. On the contrary, by doing so it is Quantic Dream which is breaking the law, according to article L.2141-5 in the Code du Travail :
« Il est interdit à l’employeur de prendre en considération l’appartenance à un syndicat ou l’exercice d’une activité syndicale pour arrêter ses décisions en matière notamment de recrutement, de conduite et de répartition du travail, de formation professionnelle, d’avancement, de rémunération et d’octroi d’avantages sociaux, de mesures de discipline et de rupture du contrat de travail. ».
Mister de Gruttola and mister de Fondaumière quite clearly need to brush up on the freedoms of union membership and action in France.
Considering their actions over the past months, and the explicit content of this letter, we can only conclude that they are engaging in blatant union busting. It is twice scandalous: not only the heads of the company refuse to listen to the legitimate concerns and anger of their workers, but they also harass and brutalize their representatives. Beyond the anger and sadness we feel for our comrade, we are appalled by the nonsensical and brutal nature of their actions: they think themselves all-powerful, and unable to tolerate the slightest criticism.
Call to strike
The STJV is calling for a national strike on Thursday, October 8th, on the day of the STJV representative at Quantic Dream’s disciplinary meeting. We demand better working conditions such as less work hours, the sharing of the 6 million Euros profit sharing budget, an end to union busting, and more democracy in the workplace.
We call on everyone to join us in front of Quantic Dream (30 rue Raoul Wallenberg, 75019 Paris) at 10 am.
We cannot let bosses spit on the Code du Travail. This attack on a union representative is a blow to every worker in our industry. We do not only need to defend a comrade against violent and radicalized executives, but all workers.
This call covers the STJV’s field of action in the private sector, and therefore applies to any person employed by a video game publishing, distribution, services and/or creation company – whatever their position or status and whatever their company’s area of activity (games, consoles, mobile, serious games, VR/AR, game engines, marketing services, streaming, derivative products, esports, online content creation, etc.). It also applies to all teachers working in private schools in video game-related courses. As this is a national strike call, no action is necessary to go on strike: just don’t go to work.