Former Keywords Studios Staff to Picket BioWare's Edmonton Office

A group of former Keywords Studios employees, who were laid off after BioWare ended its contract, plan to stage a protest outside BioWare's Edmonton headquarters. The protest, scheduled for November 7, involves the unionized QA team for Dragon Age, who lost their jobs in September. According to reports, the union had filed a notice to picket, but EA and BioWare initially objected, citing that the workers were remote employees. However, the Alberta Labour Relations Board ruled in favor of the union, stating that the former staff would still be allowed to picket as they remotely accessed computers within BioWare's offices. The union views this decision as a significant victory for remote workers in Canada, emphasizing that employees can now picket their employer's offices even if they don't work on-site. The union spokesperson, James Russwurm, expressed that this ruling sets a precedent for remote workers to exercise their rights. Efforts have been made to obtain comments from EA, BioWare, and Keywords Studio regarding this matter.