Ubisoft Halifax workers unionise

• The unit includes producers, programmers, designers, artists, researchers, and development testers.
• The workers will join the CWA Canada Local 30111, which includes Bethesda Game Studios staffers.

Around 60 workers at Ubisoft Halifax have voted to unionise and join CWA Canada.

The move follows a vote in which 74% of staff said yes to forming a union. It was later granted certification by the Nova Scotia Labour Board.

The unit includes producers, programmers, designers, artists, researchers, and development testers. They are now joining the CWA Canada Local 30111, which also includes nearly 120 workers at Bethesda Game Studios in Montreal and staff at the Montreal Gazette Newspaper.

Ubisoft was founded in 2010 and adopted its current name in 2015. The team specialises in developing games for mobile, working on titles including Rainbow Six Mobile and Assassin’s Creed Rebellion. According to the company's website, it currently employs around 80 staff.

Workers at the studio had filed to unionise earlier this year.

"Secure, supported, and empowered"

“In an era marked by industry-wide uncertainty, studio closures, layoffs, and increasing instability, we want to make clear our commitment to one another and to our craft,” the workers said in a statement.

“We believe that creativity flourishes when workers feel secure, supported, and empowered. We are unionising not in opposition to Ubisoft, but in partnership, with the goal of ensuring our studio remains a beacon of equity, excellence, and innovation.”

CWA Canada President Carmel Smyth commented: “Now let’s get to work negotiating a first collective agreement that recognises the talent and dedication of these workers.”

In a statement to CBC News, a Ubisoft spokesperson said they “acknowledge the decision issued by the Nova Scotia Labour Board and reaffirm our commitment to maintaining full cooperation with the Board and union representatives”.