Call of Duty Maker Activision Blizzard Accused of Firing Employees for Using Bad Language

Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard has been accused by a union of unlawfully firing two video game testers for using ‘strong language’ to protest a new company policy that limits remote working .

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) said it filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday seeking reinstatement of the workers.

The case is the latest the union has taken to the labor board as part of a campaign to organize the company and its subsidiaries. Last year, small groups of game testers at three Activision affiliates voted to join the CWA.

Microsoft is seeking to acquire Activision for $69 billion (nearly Rs. 5,68,500 crore), but US regulators have filed a lawsuit to block the deal.

Last year, the labor board filed complaints accusing Santa Monica, Calif.-based Activision of threatening employees who posted their working conditions on social media and denying raises to pro-workers. unions, which the company denies.

Activision spokesman Joseph Christinat said the company takes appropriate disciplinary action when employees violate its workplace code of conduct.

“The use of abusive, threatening or harassing language towards colleagues is unacceptable and we are disappointed that the CWA is advocating this type of behavior,” he said.

According to the union, Activision announced last month that its employees would be required to report to the office three days a week from April, ending a policy that had allowed for more flexible arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The change received an overwhelmingly negative response from employees, the CWA said, and Activision fired two game testers who “expressed outrage using strong language.”

The CWA suggested the Democratic-led labor council could use the case to review a 2020 ruling by a Republican majority that limited legal protections for workers who use vulgar or offensive language during workplace disputes. of work.

“When faced with unfair treatment by unscrupulous employers like Activision, workers should have the right to speak up,” CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens said in a statement.

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