Videogame actors set to strike on Friday, union is "not confident" of a resolution

SAG-AFTRA, a union of US workers claiming 160,000 members, of which many of them work as actors in the video game industry, announced a strike in some of the largest developers in the world from Friday, October 21 This decision is the culmination of a dispute that has been ongoing for nearly two years.

Lots of new games have hit the strike. Check out our list of the best PC games of 2016 (so far).

Negotiations will continue throughout the first half of this week, but SAG-AFTRA said in its statement that "based on past experience, we are not managing trust is willing to make the necessary changes to this contract is up of our other agreements. "So it appears that the strike will continue. The companies targeted include Activision, Electronic Arts, Take Two Interactive, WB Games, Disney and Insomniac Games, among others.

The issues include SAG-AFTRA vocal stress, lack of stunt coordinators dangerous actions, and an alleged lack of transparency about what an actor can be asked later to being hired. In its bulletin strike, which you can read here, SAG-AFTRA gives a full account of their concerns, arguing that employers game continue to work under the terms "structured over twenty years ago." As the industry has matured since then, they have also made the rules of conduct of agents of video games, and the demands placed on them.

law firm Barnes & Thornburg represent the gaming industry in negotiations with SAG-AFTRA, and released a statement in response to the strike threat, considering it "hasty, unnecessary and an action that will only harm its members. " The lawyers argue that "SAG-AFTRA represents interpreters in less than 25% of video games on the market" - SAG-AFTRA is an American union (its acronym refers to the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which it merged) - and say that developers simply turn the actors based outside the US ..

Therefore, it is unlikely that the development of the game will be significantly affected by the strike. SAG-AFTRA said "the support and cooperation of our sister unions worldwide to this effort, as evidenced by a resolution adopted by the International Federation of Actors (FIA)". However, the FIA ​​is a federation of unions, with over 90 member organizations. It is doubtful in the extreme that a simple statement of support for them will lead to an imitation of SAG-AFTRA strike by all members of its members, or Barnes & Thornburg would be more worried.