Rustavi strikers reject proposal of phased wage indexing

The striking workers of the metallurgical mills located in Rustavi have denied the company bosses' proposal to make a step-by-step wage indexing by 15%; they intend to go on striking until wages were increased by a third at once.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 4, about 130 workers went on strike at the Rustavi Metallurgical Mills. They demand a 30% increase in wages, the payment of the 13th salary at the end of the year, and better working conditions.

The company bosses have held negotiations with the strikers, as a result of which the strikers rejected the bosses' proposals and announced that they would continue their strike.

In the course of the bargaining, the bosses offered to increase wages this year by 50 laris (about USD 17), and again – next March. As a result, the total amount of the increase will make 150 laris (about USD 51), which is approximately 15% of the current wages, said Giorgi Tkemaladze, the spokesman of the trade unions of metallurgists and miners, as quoted by the "Rustavi Info" News Agency today.

The strikers have rejected the offer and demanded a 30% increase in wages, the "Rustavi-2" TV Channel has reported on its website today.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 7, 2022 at 07:22 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.