In the summer of 2022, 16 video game testers working for the Ireland-based Keywords Studios in their Edmonton location voted unanimously in favour of joining Local 401 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, becoming the first workers in the videogame industry to form a union in their workplace.
Keyword Studios had assigned these workers to a contract with BioWare, conducting quality assurance and testing.
The workers were motivated to unionize because of what they referred to as low wages, lack of benefits (such as sick pay), and health and safety concerns amongst a forced return to the office during the pandemic.
A year later, however, they still had no collective agreement.
In fact, instead of negotiating their first agreement with their workers, they told them that BioWare had cancelled the contract and they were using this opportunity to lay them off, instead of pivoting them to other contracts and continue bargaining on that contract.
The workers took Keywords to the labour relations board, accusing the company of unionbusting; although they called it “surface bargaining”.
It must have worked. The workers ratified their first collective agreement last February. The new 2-year agreement expires in February of next year.
Here is how the hourly wages break down by position.
| Development support, level 1 | $17.50 |
| Development support, level 2 | $18.50 |
| Development support, level 3 | $20.00 |
| Development support, level 4 | $20.50 |
| Area lead, level 1 | $24.00 |
| Area lead, level 2 | $25.00 |
The workers will also get a 2.5% wage increase next month and another 2.5% wage increase next year, just as the contract expires.
Here are some highlights from the collective agreement regarding benefits these workers receive now that they are unionized.
One of the first things I noticed is something I rarely have seen in the collective agreements I have reported on is a clean start clause. These workers had their personnel files cleaned out to expunge any disciple records and can no longer be affected by any discipline that existed in those files prior to May 2023.
Keywords has a greed to maintain a group insurance plan for all full-time, non-probationary workers. The plan will cover the following healthcare services:
- Life insurance
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Long term disability insurance
- Travel insurance
- Employee assistance programme
Workers get 5 paid and 2 unpaid personal days each calendar year.
Paid vacation time depends on how long a worker has been employed by Keywords.
| Length of service | Vacation time |
|---|---|
| 1–3 years | 2 weeks |
| 3–10 years | 3 weeks |
| 10+ years | 4 weeks |
Personal leave maxes out at 10 days per year but is unpaid.
Bereavement leave is up to 3 days and can be used in relation to the death of immediate and extended family members, including spouses and partners, children (including foster and in-law), wards, parents (including step, foster, and in-law), siblings (including half, step, and in-law), grandchildren (including step and in-law), grandparents (including step), aunts and uncles (including step and in-law), niblings (including in-laws), and persons workers are not related to but consider like close relatives.
Workers get jury leave, but it will be unpaid.
Maternity leave is unpaid, a maximum of 16 weeks, and must begin within the 13 weeks preceding the estimated birthing date. The 16-week unpaid leave is also available to workers whose pregnancy ends for reasons other than a live birth.
Parental leave is also unpaid and maxes out at 62 weeks. It must be within the 78 weeks after the child’s birth.
Reservist leave is up to 4 weeks and is unpaid.
Workers can take up to a half day off to attend a citizenship ceremony to receive a certificate of citizenship. It also in unpaid leave.
As well workers can take up to 27 weeks of unpaid compassionate care leave to provide care or support a seriously ill family member.
Critical illness leave maxes out at 36 weeks for family members under 18 and 16 weeks for family members over 18. Either way, it is unpaid.
52 weeks of unpaid leave is available to workers if they are a parent of a child who has disappeared. It increases to 104 weeks if they died. Both are unpaid leaves.
Workers who are victims of domestic violence can up to 10 days in unpaid leave.
Long-term illness or injury leave is also unpaid, and it maxes out at 16 weeks each calendar year.
There are 10 general holidays, which are used to determine stat holiday pay:
- New Year’s Day
- Alberta Family Day
- Good Friday
- Victoria Day
- Canada Day
- Labour Day
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
- Thanksgiving Day
- Remembrance Day
- Christmas Day.
Shifts are typically 8 hours long and fall between 08:00 and 18:00 each day.
Workers whose job does not demonstrate a need for their physical
presence in the studio shall be entitled to work remotely; those who work from home will be entitled to a $40 monthly allowance. Those who must work in studio will qualify for a $10 daily commuting premium.
Keywords gas agreed to pay $150 per year into a social events fund for team building and morale. There will be a minimum of 2 social events per year, and they must be approved by a manager.
The union can have up to 2 stewards for these workers.
Two workers will sit on a Joint Labour–Management Committee, which will also act as the Health and Safety Committee.
Overtime is 1.5 times the regular pay rate and double time if it is on one of the general holidays listed earlier.
