3,000 miners on strike in Georgian mining town of Chiatura
Miners’ strike in Chiatura, Georgia
Approximately 3,000 employees of Georgian Manganese and its subsidiaries have gone on strike in the town of Chiatura in the Imereti region of Western Georgia. Their main demands include a 50% increase in wages, improvement of insurance packages, the conclusion of labor contracts with employees, a ban on the passage of heavy vehicles through the city, and improvement of the general environmental situation in the city and adjacent villages.
Miners say that there is currently massive air, drinking water, and Kvirila river pollution in Chiatura and the surrounding area, and, on top of that, the soil is becoming unusable due to irresponsible ore mining and processing.
The information was disseminated by the Management Monitoring Center (GMC).
- Tkibuli – a city in Georgia that has become used to death
- The women working in Georgia’s dangerous mines
The strike began when drivers working for Georgian Manganese sent a letter to the Minister of Health. They did not address the Minister via the union and preferred to hire a private lawyer instead.
Representative of Georgian trade unions Tamaz Dolaberidze says that during the negotiations the company management proposed to increase the salary of each employee by 250 lari but this proposal was not accepted by the protesters. The strike continued and its participants insist on fulfillment of every one of their demands.
