The company King has rejected the proposal from the unions Unionen and Sveriges Ingenjörer to establish a so-called "collective bargaining agreement" with employees working in its Swedish branch. Negotiations between the parties lasted for more than a year.
As reported by Kotaku, such agreements usually outline the working conditions for teams, including benefits they can expect, weekly working hours, and much more.
King's management cited two reasons for their refusal.
The first reason is that top managers believe the existing benefits at King are already more advantageous for employees—developers are offered private health insurance and an extended pension plan, along with paid long-term medical leave and parental leave.
The second reason pertains to the necessity for extensive changes. According to King's management, a "collective bargaining agreement" would require changes to work processes in Sweden, but the company wants to maintain "unified and equal conditions" across its branches worldwide—in addition to Sweden, it has offices in the USA, Spain, the UK, Germany, and several other countries.
Nonetheless, King expressed willingness to increase cooperation with the unions.