German game workers at devcom form new association, issue demands for better working conditions

German workers in the gaming industry, alongside their union ver.di, a UNI affiliate, have issued a series of demands at devcom, Europe’s biggest electronic game developer conference now taking place in Cologne.

Video game workers, in Germany and around the world, have been organizing for humane hours, job stability, decent pay and respect. ver.di is using devcom to reinforce its ongoing push around workers’ biggest issues and to launch the Game Devs Round Table (GDRT), a worker-led association to change the industry.

“To stop merely complaining about peak workloads, harassment and opaque decision-making, employees in the games industry have actively organized the GDRT within ver.di. Together, our goal is to improve working conditions significantly. We advocate for fair wages, collective agreements, extended notice periods and gender equality. The industry urgently needs to rethink its approach,” said union secretary Matthias Grzegorczyk.

Through the GDRT, workers’ six key demands are:

1. Fair wages: Despite record profits in the industry, employees’ wages are stagnating and not keeping pace with inflation. Workers therefore demand annual salary adjustments and fair compensation.
2. Collective agreement: A collective agreement transparently and bindingly regulates working conditions such as wages, vacation days and working hours. We aim to establish such agreements step by step within companies and eventually across the entire German games industry.
3. Working hours: Overtime should always be voluntary, and accepting or declining overtime should not disadvantage workers. Employees should be able to decide whether they take overtime as payment or additional vacation days. In the long term, employers must reduce working hours while maintaining full pay.
4. Transparency: Regular information about the state of companies, finances and projects is necessary. We demand early involvement in decision-making processes to best support the outcomes.
5. Contract Standards: Fixed-term contracts and long probation periods create insecurity. We therefore demand transparent contracts that allow for a good work-life balance and greater flexibility. Additionally, we call for longer notice periods and protection after project completions.
6. Gender Equality: The industry is currently unfriendly to families and disadvantages women. We demand equal opportunities for advancement, fair pay and flexible working hours to combat systemic discrimination. Furthermore, victims of abuse and harassment must be protected, and perpetrators held accountable.

UNI Global Union is standing with ver.di as part of its worldwide push to help game workers build power on the job.

Karri Lybeck, Senior Coordinator and Organizer for UNI ICTS, Tech and Games, is in Cologne to support the launch. He said:

“We are standing together for an industry where every game developer has a collective agreement, where fair salaries, balanced work hours and equal equality are the norm, not the exception. Organizing for justice is not a sidequest here, it is the main story line.”