Georgian Manganese Dismisses All Employees Involved in Protests

Giorgi Bitsadze worked for over two years as a loader operator at JM-Teknikaservisi, a contractor of Georgian Manganese LLC. In March 2024, when part of the population of Shukruti village began protesting near the Korokhnali mine, he joined the protest from the outset, participating during his free time.

On September 5, Giorgi was dismissed from his job. The company accused him of missing work. In August, Bitsadze had requested 15 days of unpaid leave, a right granted under the Labor Code. However, his request was denied. He was informed that the decision had been made by the administrative director of Georgian Manganese LLC, Teimuraz Khonelia. Starting September 1, Giorgi, along with several other Shukruti protest participants, sewed his mouth shut and began a hunger strike, ceasing to report for work. The protestors have one demand: that Georgian Manganese provide them with fair compensation for the destruction of their homes caused by ore extraction.

Immediately after missing work, on September 2, Bitsadze was severely reprimanded, with the order being handed over on September 7. On September 11, he received a second order stating that his employment had been terminated as of September 5.

"The company's actions are purely formal. They allegedly complied with the Labor Code's requirements but did not give the employee the chance to address or correct any alleged misconduct. The employee was not given the opportunity to appeal the unjust reprimand, which was issued without grounds and in violation of the law, as he was dismissed before even learning about it," explained Civil Advocacy Center lawyer Vladimer Kutateladze to Mtis Ambebi. Along with Giorgi Bitsadze, Georgian Manganese fired four other protest participants. The Civil Advocacy Center is representing all five dismissed individuals.

Since April 29, 2022, Roman Megrelishvili has been working as a manager at Magharoeli LLC. He was dismissed on September 2, with the company accusing him of disrupting the work process and causing damage. Megrelishvili is one of three protest participants charged by the Prosecutor's Office on July 31, following an investigation initiated by the complaint of Magharoeli LLC.

Malkhaz Labadze, a railway worker at Magharoeli LLC, was also dismissed on September 2 for the same reason as Roman Megrelishvili. Both are accused of committing a crime under Article 226 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to disrupting the work of an enterprise through organizing group actions. Since the start of the protest by the residents of Shukruti, the Korokhnali mine has ceased operations. Some miners have expressed solidarity with the victims and refused to work. Company managers made two attempts to restore operations, claiming they had reached an agreement with the protesters, which was false. Both attempts to resume the mine’s operations failed, in part due to the opposition from the protestors.

"Both Megrelishvili and Labadze continued working physically until September 4, only to be informed on September 5 that they had been dismissed as of September 2. The reason given for their dismissal was their status as the accused.

A pre-trial session has yet to take place, and no verdict has been issued. It has not been proven that these individuals committed any crime, making their dismissal unlawful.

In reality, they were dismissed for participating in the protest during their free time,” the lawyer stated.

The dismissal order for Giorgi Tsartsidze, another protest participant and head of the underground shift, was signed by Zurab Badzgaradze, the director of Magharoeli Ltd., and dated September 2. “Tsartsidze had committed an act intended to disrupt and damage the company's operations,” the order claimed.

However, Mtis Ambebi obtained an audio recording of a telephone conversation between Zurab Badzgaradze and Giorgi Tsartsidze on September 3, which clearly shows that Tsartsidze had not been dismissed on either September 2 or 3.

In the first audio recording, Badzgaradze initially refused Tsartsidze's request to use his paid leave.

Zurab Badzgaradze: "I spoke to them separately. I told them that you worked in August, you worked in September, and you were entitled to a vacation. Why did I refuse you? They directly addressed this issue, and what did they tell you?"

Giorgi Tsartsidze: "So, I’m being blocked by Temur Khonelia?"

Zurab Badzgaradze: "Yes, exactly. I’m telling you directly. What did he say to you?"

Giorgi Tsartsidze: "If I don’t go back to work, is there any point in returning?"

Zurab Badzgaradze: "I can’t say anything. You heard me correctly. If you don’t go to work, they might say you’re not showing up and could claim something else. I can’t tell you. If you don’t go, you might be considered disciplinary. By doing this, you’re giving them a trump card."

In the second audio recording, which reflects a conversation held on September 3, Zurab Badzgaradze, director of Magharoeli LLC, tells Tsartsidze that he can take his paid vacation, for which Tsartsidze had submitted an application on August 27. This vacation was legally his right, as he had not used his previous one during the year.

Zurab Badzgaradze: "In short, we’ve taken ours, and Nakoma and Gioma too, brother, just so you know. You should also go on vacation, and I’ll pay you your salary as usual."

Giorgi Tsartsidze: "Why was this an issue? Mukhrani couldn’t give me a clear answer, Zura. Did I do something wrong? I didn’t violate discipline, I didn’t show up drunk, I didn’t miss the plan - I even exceeded my responsibilities, and…"

Zurab Badzgaradze: "Yes, yes, Giorgi, listen to me for a minute. Let’s not discuss everything over the phone. If you’re in the city, come to see me immediately. The most important thing is that we’ve sorted everything out - come on."

Earlier, on June 19, Jumber Tsutskiridze, a participant in the Chiatura protest, was fired from JM-Technikaservisi LLC. He had worked as an excavator operator with the company since March 2022. The termination order stated that Tsutskiridze had violated the obligations set out in his contract and labor regulations, accusing him of leaving work four hours early. Jumber Tsutskiridze has already filed a lawsuit with the Sachkhere District Court.

Lawyer Vladimer Kutateladze believes that the dismissal of all five protest participants violated the procedures established by the Labor Code:

"Their dismissal was due to their continued support and participation in the protests, which constitutes direct discrimination and harassment based on dissent and expression."

The protest participants were not only punished by dismissal. On the instructions of Georgian Manganese, Magharoeli LLC filed complaints against the protest participants with the police, accusing them of disrupting mine operations. The Sachkhere Prosecutor's Office charged three of the protest participants, with the punishment carrying a sentence of up to 3 years of imprisonment. The court granted bail to the defendants.

Following an appeal by Magharoeli, the court also prohibited the residents of Shukruti from protesting near the mines.

Specially mobilized groups disrupted the peaceful march organized by the residents of Shukruti to the village of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the informal ruler of the country, preventing any rally participants from entering Chorvila. The police did not protect the protestors' right to freedom of expression. When thirty-two women were blocked from entering Chorvila, the operation was led by Zaza Tskhakaia, head of the Imereti Police Department, and his deputy, Koka Maisuradze. The police were stopping and inspecting all cars entering the village one by one.

Magharoeli LLC has filed two lawsuits in court against the rally participants. The company is demanding 5.5 million GEL in compensation and the immediate transfer of their houses and yards, in a vacated condition, for a period of four years, following the first request. This means that the defendants must demolish their homes, clear the area, and hand it over to the company for ore extraction or removal.