In a historic moment for the games industry, Paradox Interactive has announced that it has reached an agreement with l📖abor unions Unionen and SACO to become the first publisher to unionize. Under new terms posted on its website, employees of Parabox will be given the formal means to influence their pay, benefits, responsibilities, and more.
"In the 20-plus years we've been in operation, Paradox has always been a growing company," said Marina Hedman (chief human resources officer at Paradox) in a statement, "but that growth has been especially dramatic in the🔴 last few years. An organization of our size has different needs, and we must ensure that our employees continue to feel valued and empowered to shape our company, even as our structure shifts towards larger teams and projects."
The agreement currently applies to all Paradox employees working at locations within 🐷Sweden, which includes Paradox Interactive, Development Studio, Arctic, and Malmö. It will set in stone a number of standards that the company will ensure each of its employees receive, including but not limited to clear career paths, salary expectations, and standardized benefits.
Magne Skjæran, a games programmer at Paradox and union representative for Unionen, added, "Much like Paradox itself, the unions here have been growing massively in the paꦯst few years, gradually becoming more and more organized. This is a clear sign that our efforts have resulted in meaningful change...With this agreement in place, we will be further empowered to advocate for our members here at Paradox, and contribute to making it the best place to work in the industry."
As reports of terrible crunch culture have come out over the last few years, many have been fighting to get game industry employees worker's rights. With the amount of dedication and hard work it takes to bring lavishly detailed worlds to fruition, the unchecked abuse of power in this industry needs to stop. Paradox making this agreement with two different unions is a major step forwa♈rd for the rights of workers across the globe.
If this becomes a trend, it would be great to see other publis💙hers start allowing unionization of its workforces.
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