Employees ask Ubisoft management to “properly acknowledge our demands”

Following a company-wide email from Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, employees of the company have once again asked management to “properly acknowledge our demands”.

Earlier this week (July 29), an open letter now signed by more than 1000 current and former Ubisoft employees not only expressed solidarity with the Activision Blizzard walkout but called for industry-wide change against harassment and abusive behaviour.

The original letter also criticised Ubisoft for not doing enough in the wake of allegations made against the company last year over abuse and sexual harassment.

Guillemot responded with a company-wide email, writing that he is committed to creating “real and lasting change” at Ubisoft, stressing that the leadership team had read the letter and that they “take the issues it raises seriously”.

However, according to a new statement, employees believe that “it seems that the majority of our demands were sidelined and few of our points have been addressed.”

To make things easy for those in charge, employees have made three calls-to-action, as shared by Axios’ Stephen Totilo.

Newest statement from Ubisoft workers, reacting to CEO’s note.

They list specifics they want the company to address. And press to be more involved in reform: “an invitation to reach out to company management personally is not the same as having a collective seat at the table” pic.twitter.com/2fFuUkCDeK

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) July 30, 2021

They want Ubisoft to “stop promoting, and moving known offenders from studio to studio, team to team with no repercussions. This cycle needs to stop.”

Employees also “want a collective seat at the table, to have a meaningful say in how Ubisoft as a company moves forward from here.”

They also ask for “cross-industry collaboration, to agree to a set of ground rules and processes that all studios can use to handle these offences in the future. This collaboration must heavily involve employees in non-management positions and union representatives.”

As the letter goes on to say, “by being the first to start this collaboration, Ubisoft has the opportunity to be at the forefront of creating a better future for the games industry. We want to see real, fundamental change within Ubisoft and across the industry.”

In other news, it’s been revealed that Activision Blizzard has hired the renowned union-busting legal firm, WilmerHale, to review the company’s policies after a lawsuit accused the firm of subjecting employees to “constant sexual harassment, including groping, comments, and advances” in the workplace.

Previously best known for its work with Amazon when it came to handling workers demanding better pay and working conditions, WilmerHale is generally considered to be an anti-union legal firm.