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Dismissed Electricians Seek Justice

February 7, 2006

Dismissed Electricians Seek Justice

On February 2, about 20 employees of Georgia United Power Company Zugdidi Branch sent a warning by going on strike in the city center. They demand allotting frozen salaries and compensation from 2003 from the power-company authority. They claim that in order to protect their rights they are ready to carry out severe protests.

“They dismissed us without any warning. None of us received any orders about a discharge. We did not even manage to get back our work-books”, says Murman Kakachia, a participant in the protest who hopes the electricians can achieve justice. According to Mebrdzoli Chkadua, the advocate of the dismissed employees, he has been trying hard for several months, but so far unsuccessfully, to get the necessary documents for the lawsuit from the power company. He also notes blocked access to public information there. “Sornton, the director of the United Power Distribution Company has given an illegal order about the non-proliferation of information which has hindered me for seven months already; additionally such an order is against Georgian legislation”, said advocate.

The United Power Distribution Company refuses to comment on the case, though, they did mention that it is normal to replace old staff with new ones.

The head of the disposal department of United Power Distribution Company, Soso Bechvaia, thinks that the new authority changed the old professional employees to its own staff. “The percentage of bills paid by the population during our employment there was high. We are not afraid of testing, but it is obvious that Kobalia does not need professionals in the company”, he says (Gocha Kobalia is the head of the power distribution company Zugdidi branch).

The electricians dismissed from the power company in 2004 demand that their rights are protected and the labor code is followed. They intend to hold a further protest and a press conference.

Maia Gubeladze from Zugdidi

 

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