CWA Canada Union Demands Explanation from Ubisoft Regarding the Closure of Halifax Studio
The company is suspected of violating labor laws.
The CWA Canada union has sent a request to Ubisoft and its lawyers demanding documents and internal correspondence regarding the closure of Ubisoft Halifax. The company announced the liquidation of the office in Nova Scotia this week - less than a month after the majority of employees voted to join the union.
According to CWA Canada representatives, the timing of the decision raises serious doubts. The union claims that Ubisoft should have notified employees in advance of the planned layoffs and explained the reasons for the closure.
"Usually, in the event of mass layoffs, employers share such plans with the union confidentially before announcing them publicly. Why were Canadian workers presented with a fait accompli? How are they different from colleagues in Europe?", said CWA Canada President Carmel Smyth.
Ubisoft explained the decision by citing business restructuring and the need to "improve efficiency." However, CWA Canada representatives believe that the company must prove that the closure was dictated solely by economic reasons, and not by a desire to punish employees for union activity.
The union promised to "use all available legal means" to protect the rights of workers. The organization also demands that Ubisoft offer the dismissed employees vacancies at other company sites - in Montreal, Toronto, the USA, or Europe.
In addition, CWA Canada recalled that over the past eight years, Ubisoft Halifax has received approximately 11 million Canadian dollars in tax breaks from the government of Nova Scotia. The union believes that such payments oblige the company to greater social responsibility towards local workers.
