Things are not going well internally at Ubisoft, as not everyone likes the fact that they’ve made office work compulsory.

The unions responsible for AAA and mobile games at Ubisoft’s Barcelona studio have sued the publisher, denouncing the changes to the remote working policy. Joined by the Spanish trade union CGT (Confederación General del Trabajo), the unions are demanding that Ubisoft withdraw the mandate to return to the office and ensure that remote working is protected by collective agreements.

According to an email sent to Gamesindustry, the unions say that while both sides are willing to negotiate, management has not made a proposal since the lawsuit was filed on October 14. Ubisoft’s proposed changes would reportedly mean that employees would return to the office to work at least three days a week, replacing the current monthly telecommuting policy that allows employees to work from home 60% of the days they choose each month. Full-time telecommuters will also be required to follow the policy.

According to the unions, Ubisoft’s decision was made suddenly and without transparency, pointing out that it would cause logistical problems as offices are not prepared to accommodate all teleworkers at once. Ubisoft reportedly said that the mandate to return to the office was for team creativity and better communication, but the unions say that management has consistently failed to demonstrate the real tangible benefits behind the measure. So it looks like management wants to be important so they can make themselves look important to senior management.

In September, more than 700 Ubisoft employees in France went on strike for three days, again over mandatory office work. Then, in October, they staged a one-day demonstration at Ubisoft’s Milan studio in solidarity with the French workers.

So the situation of the company led by Yves Guillemot is not very good, and it has to change…

Source: Gamesindustry