Georgian Manganese and Miners Reach Agreement

According to the statement by Georgian Manganese, the mediation agreement entered into force today, June 24.

“The company took responsibility to resume mining works in Chiatura. An agreement has been reached on all demands. As for the salary increase, the wages of the employees will be determined according to the inflation rate, in particular, on the basis of the collective labor agreement previously signed between the company and workers. According to the mediation document, it was decided to form a commission, with the representation and involvement of the parties, which will work out a plan for coming out of the crisis within 3 months. In addition, the company's financial audit will be conducted by an independent auditor,’’ says the statement released by Georgian Manganese.

Tariel Mikatsadze, one of the miners who participated in the rally in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi, which started on June 19, says that they agreed to an 11.9% increase in wages.

“After a two-day discussion, it was decided that Georgian Manganese will resume work from July 1. Certain agreements were made, specifically – regarding financial matters. There are issues that will be resolved immediately. Therefore, the rally which was supposed to take place on Sunday at 7 pm has been called off.

We would like to thank everyone who stood by our side for these six days. Hopefully, we will not need to prove our point with strikes anymore,” stated Mikatsadze.

According to the information by Georgian Manganese, the mediation agreement between the parties was formulated in the Ministry of Health and it was signed by the employer, the employee, and the mediator. The implementation of the agreement will be monitored by the Labor Inspection Service.

3500 employees of Georgian Manganese went on strike on June 7. They voiced 14 demands:

1. 40% salary increase (does not apply to management), which the miners reduced to 20% during the strike period;
2. Return to pre-February 1, 2023 work schedule/plan;
3. suspension of interest accrual on bank loans and postponement of payments; remittance of what has been accrued so far;
4. Improved health insurance and its conditions;
5. Possibility of paid leave;
6. Allow employees to start work as soon as possible;
7. Improving, updating, and upgrading equipment;
8. Improving servings (for example, replacing canned food with something else)
9. Allowing workers to use the sanatorium, as before February 1
10. 100% reimbursement of medical leave
11. 100% compensation for days missed from June 7 until the restoration of a normal work process
12. Bringing safety standards to the highest level
13. Cancellation of subsidiary LLCs and merging back into one company
14. Consulting the locals when exploiting new land via open quarries, taking their interests into account, as required by the international norms of human rights and the Constitution of Georgia. Open pit mining of manganese should be conducted in full compliance with the law, as it is the constitutional right of a person to live in a healthy environment. Air pollution should be controlled, Geological and ecological risk factors should be considered, and if everything is within the norm, the humus layer should be removed and stored, biological reclamation and the planting of trees and plants, which are authentic to the local culture, should be carried out.

In the course of the protest, 11 miners went on a hunger strike in tents pitched in Chiatura city center. One of them sewed his lips shut, another – his yes. Another miner inflicted self-harm when he cut the veins on his hand. After Georgian Manganese announced that it would increase wages by only 5%, several dozen strikers moved to Tbilisi and erected tents in front of the parliament building. Four more miners went on a hunger strike in Tbilisi.