Sacked Grand Theft Auto Worker Claims Rockstar Staff Placed on ‘Watch List’
BBC News reports that a dismissed Grand Theft Auto worker, Dayne Oram, claims Rockstar staff were placed on a "watch list" for union activities.
Published: 11 September 2026, 16:36 BST
Updated: 12 minutes ago
Oram alleges that after employees signed a petition about remote working in the spring of 2023, Rockstar North "kept an eye" on a small group of union members. Oram was among several employees claiming to have been sacked for attempting to unionize.
Rockstar denies these allegations and asserts that the dismissals were due to "gross misconduct," specifically the sharing of confidential information on an online forum. Approximately 34 workers were believed to have been let go, with 23 participating in the employment tribunal.
Most of the sacked staff were based at Rockstar’s Edinburgh headquarters, while others were located in Canada.
During the first day of the tribunal, Oram testified that around 150 employees had signed the petition, with between 15 and 20 being union members. He claimed it could be "inferred" who these individuals were by those who submitted the petition.
Representing Rockstar, Thomas Cordrey questioned Oram about a gap of two years and eight months between the petition’s submission and the dismissals. Oram acknowledged that this wasn’t the sole reason for their dismissal but suggested a connection to other union-related activities.
Oram also discussed his involvement in setting up a Discord server used by 300 Rockstar employees to discuss company matters. While acknowledging that rules were broken, he characterized them as "more of a guiding principle". He did, however, concede that one particularly derogatory comment was removed due to its targeting of an individual.
When asked about another post described as highly offensive, Oram classified it as misconduct but denied it constituted gross misconduct. He further admitted that some moderation decisions might be made differently in hindsight.
This comes as Rockstar prepares for the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 on November 19th.
