Malta’s General Workers Union has declared an industrial dispute over job losses at NetEnt following the casino supplier’s acquisition by Evolution.
The General Workers Union (GWU) claims that the companies failed to recognise it as an employee representative for the purpose of collective redundancies and accuses them of wholesale breach of the Collective Redundancies (Protection of Employment) Regulations and the Transfer of Business (Protection of Employment) Regulations.
“The Union has reserved the right to take industrial action in furtherance of the said trade dispute, with immediate effect,” the GWU said on Sunday.
“The GWU advises that these measures have become necessary given the gaming companies’ declared and manifest unwillingness to consult it, as the employees’ representative, in order to avoid mass redundancies in the iGaming sector. The Companies are reportedly planning to lay off over 300 employees, with no effort being made to avoid redundancies, and by engaging in anti-union tactics.”
Employees also complain that they have been unable to connect to a government helpline setup to assist those affected with finding new jobs.
The redundancies are related to the closure of NetEnt’s live casino offering and streamlining of game development functions, which Evolution revealed last week, alongside announcing the departure of NetEnt chief executive Therese Hillman.
Shares in Evolution Gaming Group AB (STO:EVO) were unchanged in Stockholm early Monday morning at SEK733.80 per share.