About the recent scandal at Quantic Dream
After seeing some of the reactions that this case has provoked, it seems necessary for us to intervene and state our point of view as a union of workers.
The STJV was solicited by some of the people who gave interviews. We provided them with advices and support and remained discreet about the conflits they had with their employer. As a result, we have been aware of many of these elements for quite some time. Working ourselves in the industry, and knowing the relative respect of the labor code in it, it immediately seemed very clear to us that these accusations should be taken seriously.
The questions of sexism have been widely treated, we will simply add that in an environment where the proportion of women is estimated at 17%, no lightness of treatment is acceptable.
We think it is important to remember that in terms of employee protection, the employer has an obligation of result. In other words, its obligation is not to try to protect employees from physical or mental risks, but to do so.
In addition, we deplore the way in which some of the employees were treated in the light of these testimonies. The way it describes the crunch, the methods of dismissal and the pressure on the employees is worrying.
Quantic Dream say that all charges against them are unfounded. On our side, we are able to estimate how difficult it is to testify about our difficulties. Those who do so do not find themselves in this situation with pleasure. The threats of blacklisting and career sabotage are indeed common, when we do not internalize them, without even having to be pronounced. Therefore we believe that these testimonials deserve serious attention.
Some studios are more virtuous than others, we know, but it is clear that a lot of us have to complain about our working conditions.
In our industry, we are often seen as a variable of adjustment under the excuse of our passion. The almost systematic practice of crunch is one of the most obvious aspects, but it is not the only one. Sexual harassment, discounted wages, being marginalized or even moral harassment for the protesters are all symptoms that, if they may not be generalized, are at least recurrent.
For the moment, we do not have precise numbers to go forward, but we are working on it (see our survey:
https://framaforms.org/enquete-stjv-novembre-2017-1508581061). We can simply say that these problems exist. The end of the omerta [code of silence] in effect in our industry is the sine qua non condition for this problem to be addressed and resolved.
One thing is certain: it is not by brute-force crushing those who speak, nor burying our head in the sand, ignoring the problems, that the situation can improve overall.
For our part, it is also our passion for this profession that guides us in the process of defending the workers of our industry, because we are convinced that poor manufacturing conditions ultimately bring video games of a lower quality.
A video game studio, a company, and Quantic Dream is no exception to that, is not a fuzzy and homogeneous entity, but a human collective effort, made of people working together. This is not an awesome leader eclipsing little hands. Refusing to listen to the words of the workers, even to discredit them, is an attack to the studio and an attack to its productions.
If we want to improve the quality of the games we make, we will have to be able to look at the problems in the face when they come up. This "we" is all the actors in the field, from studios to players, from publishers to journalists.
