Social workers go on strike in Georgia

Today, in five cities of Georgia, employees of the Social Security Agency have refused to go to work. They demand from the Ministry for Public Health to improve their working conditions. Human rights defenders have called on the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) to verify the information about the threats of dismissal for social workers on strike.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 21, social workers threatened to go on strike after, according to them, the Georgian Ministry for Public Health had failed to fulfill their demands to improve their working conditions.

Today, employees of the Social Security Agency of the Georgian Ministry for Public Health have refused to go to work. In the morning, they have gathered near the government office in Tbilisi. Besides, the social workers did not come to work in Kutaisi, Rustavi, Batumi, and Zugdidi, reported the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, who watched the broadcast of the "Rustavi-2" TV Company.

NGOs "Human Rights Education and Monitoring Centre" (EMC) and the "Georgian Young Lawyers' Association" (GYLA) support social workers and are ready to defend their rights in court. This has been reported on the air of the "Rustavi-2" TV Company by Kote Eristavi, the director of the EMC social policy programme. "The strike will continue until they meet their demands," says Kote Eristavi.

According to the EMC, employers put pressure on social workers by threatening them with dismissals and other sanctions in the event of a strike. The EMC has sent a statement to the Georgian MIA with a request "to immediately investigate the facts of possible pressure on social workers."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 25, 2019 at 12:19 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.