Some Activision Blizzard employees will strike on Monday after the business abandoned its vaccination obligation in anticipation of a return to work in the coming months. Following an email from Activision Blizzard CEO Brian Bulatao, word of the loosened COVID-19 plan spread on social media.
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Bulatao stated in the email that immunizations were no longer necessary for staff to return to work, effective immediately. Employees at Activision Blizzard are expected to return to work in the next months, albeit this will have an immediate impact on those who are now working from the office.
According to Vox, Bulatao highlighted lifted vaccine restrictions “around the United States,” since COVID-19 infections are on the rise in Asia and Europe. According to the New York Times, some analysts believe a new wave is on its way – or has already begun – in the United States.
Following Bulatao’s email, some Activision Blizzard employees began publicly protesting the requirement’s removal.
The walkout was announced on Friday by the ABK Workers Alliance, a group that emerged in response to Activision Blizzard’s original sexual harassment lawsuit last year and has staged many walkouts since then. It is planned to take place on Monday, April 4. The group’s representative did not have an estimate of the number of participants.
The organization is requesting that Activision Blizzard reinstate the vaccination mandate, enable remote work as a “permanent solution,” and empower employees to make their own work-from-home selections. Supporters and participants may keep up with the walkout by using the hashtags #SickOfThis and #GameWorkersUnite.
“As part of their return to the office, Blizzard and Activision Blizzard had multiple feedback sessions and surveys over the course of three months, at the conclusion of which they decided to require the vaccination for new employees,” an ABK Workers Alliance spokesman told Polygon.”
This was the agreement under which people swore to return. This new update was not tested by any staff prior to its announcement.”
The person went on to say that studio management had not been notified or contacted. This reversal puts them at risk of infection.” I, like many other employees, am upset that our company is pushing for forced returns to the workplace once this restriction is lifted.
Activision Blizzard employees walked out of work many times in 2021, the first in July 2021 in protest of the company’s “abhorrent and disrespectful” response to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing complaint.
This uncovered major charges of discrimination and harassment at the publisher of World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. Following a Wall Street Journal piece exposing Kotick’s alleged participation in concealing accusations of employee wrongdoing, workers walked out again in November, demanding CEO Bobby Kotick’s resignation.
Activision Blizzard employees walked out again in December, claiming that a number of QA employees had been let go.
The walkout resulted in a strike, which ended when the workers stated their intention to unionize at the firm. Those employees, known as the Game Workers Alliance, are awaiting a ruling from the National Labor Relations Board on the possible scope of the union.
Announcement: Following the announcement of the walkout, Bulatao sent a second email to Activision Blizzard employees, stating that, despite the company-wide policy, leadership at Activision Publishing, Based on local conditions and risk, Blizzard and King may “design the processes and regulations that work best for their staff and locations.”
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