Our Country and Business Depend on Workers

Nona Mchedlishvili, radio Liberty

On October 1st Georgian Trade Unions celebrated “day of worthy labor.” Special action-manifestation was held regarding this day for the support of Kutaisi metallurgists and it covered all issues relevant for the people employed in Georgia.

“These are the requests of increase of labor payment, improving the labor conditions, worthy payment, payment for the maternity leave, stop of pressure against Trade Unions and in general we presented requests for the establishment of social justice,” – deputy head of Georgian Trade Unions Eter Matureli stated.

It is the fourth time Georgian Trade Unions is celebrating “day of worthy labor” with these kinds of requests. No serious achievements have been noted in terms of progress lately. However, the civil activism is growing – the action participants noted and stated that the events developed in September of 2011 in the metallurgical factory Hercules except for demonstrating the increase of this activity demonstrated the pressure against the civil activism.

The workers of Kutaisi metallurgy factory Hercules held a protest action with the request to improve the severe labor conditions in the country. Several of them addressed the extreme form of protest – hunger strike. Action was dispersed by the police force. Three detainees were sentenced to ten-day arrest.

According to the human rights defenders and Trade Unions, except for Georgian Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and European Convention have been violated. The head of Union of Metallurgists, Miners and Chemists Tamaz Dolaberidze pays particular attention to one of the violations.

According to him, 20 workers of Hercules who went on strike were returned to work under the condition of quitting cooperation with Trade Unions: “These people were made to write statement that they will no longer conduct work with Trade Unions. This is the violation of constitutional right. We submitted complaint against these anti-constitutional acts. We received the copy of one of this statement and sent it to the Office of Prosecutor. The complaint is submitted against Roman Lebanidze who is a deputy director of the factory and personally forces these people to write these statements.”

One of the directors of Hercules Robert Tomaradze denied the accusation of Tamaz Dolaberidze: “I have not seen anything like this. I spend the whole day with the workers and nobody has said that. The truth is that the Trade Unions deceived the workers that they could increase the payment and so on. First they made them say that they do not have a toilet. There is a toilet, a bathroom, a dining-room. But there could have always been better. Approximately 600 people are employed. The investor had started fundamental works to construct new factory. Now it has abstained. If it is not sure that it has a solid working class, it will not do it.”

These are the responses of Hercules towards the Trade Unions. In the statement of action participants Trade Unions noted that building democratic and just state is fruitless dream without respecting human rights and strong working class.

“We are here to remind government and people who often state that this country depends on business and businessmen: no, the country, its business and development depends on the hands of these people, on their physical and mental labor,” – the head of Trade Unions Irakli Petriashvili states.

The action dedicated to Day of Worthy Labor which took course of demonstration and ended in front of Parliament adopted special manifest. The manifest requires to stop intimidation of Trade Unions, grave violations in the private labor relations by the legal structures, violation of right of strike guaranteed by the Constitution, to work out the employment policy, implement the steps for social insurance of the unemployed, change the labor code and etc. The manifest will be sent to the Parliament, government and international organizations.