4-month-long active negotiations ended with concrete results

4-month-long active negotiations ended with concrete results. Around 30 members of the Boards of Tbilisi Metro Workers’ Trade Union and Trade Union of Georgian Automobile Transport and Highways’ workers participated in the final conclusive meeting. Apart from concrete results they received information about new developments.

It should be noted that if not for various events developed in the Tbilisi transport sector, which, to some extent, impeded the process, workers could have received different types of benefits much earlier.

As a result of the agreement, employees of Tbilisi Transport Company will receive benefits of 2 million GEL in total.

Among the achieved results, should be noted:

1. 10% increase in night hour work benefits for Tbilisi Metro workers
2. The rank adjustment system will be removed and simultaneously tariffs will increase: up to 100 GEL for rank 6, up to 70 GEL for rank 5, up to 50 GEL for rank 4.
3. At the same time, in rank awarding commission, a voting mandate will be given to representatives of the primary trade union organization, with nomination of Tbilisi Metro Workers’ Trade Union and Trade Union of Georgian Automobile Transport and Highways’ workers.
4. Time for the company technical training (retraining), which is organized by the administration once a month, will be paid by 20 GEL.
5. Copies of all orders regarding socio-economic issues of workers employed in Metro, including copies of orders of hiring and release from work – will be transferred to the trade union within three days.
6. Metro employees, through Metro Workers’ Trade Union, will be awarded annual “honorary metropolitan worker” title with the added bonus of a cash prize.
7. An additional payment for working in hazardous conditions is set for drivers of so-called “tows” employed in the company.
8. Service car drivers will be given an additional paid leave of 10 days for working in hazardous conditions
9. In July and August, taking into consideration high temperatures, drivers of small “bogdan” buses will be provided with water or will receive a additional payment of 50 GEL.
10. At the request of Irakli Petriashvili, GTUC President, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze stated that he is ready to regulate the so-called “dry protocol” issue, which concerns exempting drivers from 250 GEL fine in case of small car accidents (which does not cause damage to someone else’s assets or does not injure a person, and concerns relatively light automobile damaging, friction, etc). Kakha Kaladze said that he is ready to regulate the issue with the Interior Ministry and Patrol Police.
11. In the period from December to January, an amendment will be introduced into the Metro workers labour contracts and they will be reimbursed for half-hour unused breaks, which amounts to 600 thousand GEL and for which funds are not in the budget at this stage.
12. As a result of the collective agreement with the trade union, additional pay for years served will extend to drivers and they will receive the same amount of money as the Metro employees following the end of the year.
13. As Tbilisi Mayor and head of the Tbilisi Transport Company told Irakli Petriashvili yesterday and later the Board members, the collective agreement will be signed in December-January period. The agreement will include old achievements as well as new issues that will improve the social economic situation of the employees in the company. The Mayor expressed his full readiness for dialogue and discussing various problematic issues with him personally.

“Despite the fact that the train drivers trade union and organizations that alongside with them planned certain strategies and actions absolutely separated needs of train drivers and other Metro workers – needs we have been negotiating with the city authorities and company’s management for four months, I do not think it will be fair to talk about just the needs of the people who are our members. So I have personally asked the Mayor to look at the resources and, if possible, improve social conditions of Metro workers before the announced date of January, 2019.

I cannot talk about specific figures because I have only a mandate of our member organizations, but I do not want for workers of one company to be in confrontation with each other and for that confrontation to deepen.  I think the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation ought to display the high level of responsibility and state thinking and that is why I raise this issue like this. Whether they are our members or not, they are workers, thus they are our sisters and brothers and therefore we should take care of their social well-being, despite the possibility that  our members may not like this or not. I understand that we have been criticized by our members because of this, but this is the position that GTUC leadership stated before the City Mayor and I believe this position is right. “- said Irakli Petriashvili.

It should be noted that at the meeting the Mayor issued exclusive information that the issue of yellow “Bogdan” bus drivers and their remuneration will be resolved in the nearest future, by the end of the month; the city’s auto park will be renewed in the coming months and the difference between salaries of so-called yellow and blue bus drivers will be eliminated and the citizens of and guests the Capital will enjoy the new modern buses.

Irakli Petriashvili thanked the City Mayor on behalf of the workers for the construction sector regulations, which resulted in sharp decreased dynamics of accidents in the construction sphere. It should be noted that the introduction of regulation not only had not hurt business, as some groups predicted, but saved many lives. Irakli Petriashvili hopes that soon the said regulation will cover the entire country.