TAFEP is now investigating the workplace complaints levelled against Ubisoft Singapore
The Singapore watchdog has added that any valid sexual harassment claims and other criminal offences will be escalated to the police for further investigation.
Image: Ubisoft
Man, Ubisoft Singapore just can't catch a break.
Not only has the community been on their case since Kotaku's piece (thanks!), which discussed the rampant workplace discrimination at the studio came out weeks ago, but now the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) is stepping in too.
According to the agency, they are kick-starting investigations into the myriad of workplace complaints surrounding Ubisoft's local outpost, after an anonymous tip-off containing links to relevant articles alerted it to the situation on July 23. Among other things, the studio is notorious for its brutal and discriminatory treatment of employees, especially its female staff, not to mention that there are also claims of a "French ceiling" when it came to managerial positions and candidates.
In short, these are all part of what TAFEP intends to look into, and the studio will stand to face severe penalties, like being unable to renew work passes for its foreign talents, if the extent of its corporate misconduct is deemed serious enough. Additionally, they (TAFEP) have also noted that any valid claims of sexual harassment, as well as any other criminal activities will be brought up to the police for further investigation.
Fundamentally, there have actually been a multitude of changes implemented at Ubisoft in general to address this crisis, though how the employees feel about them is...a completely different story. Apparently, although Ubisoft's higher echelons have already put anti-harassment measures like third-party anonymous whistleblowing in place, some of these changes have not gone down well with many employees, who have supposedly viewed them as being insincere.
Nevertheless, our recent interaction with Studio Head Darryl Long has revealed that despite the odds stacked against them, the studio is still making a valiant effort to get its act back together, like creating special learning paths for local and female talents to more easily attain managerial positions.
Of course, while the community cannot realistically expect any of these changes to bear fruit overnight, Ubisoft Singapore's progress will probably remain under close public scrutiny for the foreseaable future.
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