Georgian Railway Administration refused to participate in the conciliation procedure,that means breaking the organic law. Railway workers are getting ready for legal strike!
After 2012 year,workers salary,that isn’t more than 1000lari,hasn’t increased at all,despite of many requests.Employees’ wages,who do quite hard working jobs,are only 200-300 lari,while administration’s staffs are inflated too much.For example,General Director’s wage is 15 000 lari. He has 6 deputies,6 assistant,7 consultants ,whose minimum salary is 4000 lari. Only for Dachi Caguria’s and Koka Guncadze’s cars was spent fuel about 11 000 000 lari .
The social situation in the country has deteriorated and consumer basket,that is for the first time consuming products,has gotten more and more expensive. Railway workers wages aren’t even enough for buying basic food. Labor dispute in Georgian Railway began on July 9.The main request was to increase salary by 50 percent for workers whose salary hasn’t increased after 2013 year; Also,for employees,whose wages are less then 1000 lari.
Georgian Railway Workers New Trade Union worked out a specific plan,about how employees’ salaries can be increased without making the process extra costly for the administration. Collective labor dispute – a conciliatory procedure provided by law,that was started on Georgian Railway on July 9,was stopped.
According to the written explanation of the labor dispute’s mediator,who was appointed by the minister of internally displaced persons from the occupied territories,labour,health and social affairs of Georgia,due to the refusal of the Railway Administration to negotiate and not to attend the meeting,the mediation process is already considered to be completed.
According to Paragraph 6 of Article 48 of the labour code of Georgia – the parties are obliged to participate in the conciliation procedures and to attend the meetings held by the mediator for this purpose – this obligation,imposed by the Organic Law,was already demonstrably broken by the Railway Administation.
Georgian Railway Workers New Trade Union evaluates the actions taken by the Railway Administation as a sabotage,that interferences with trade union activities and is a criminal infraction.Trade Union will raise the issue of legal liability for the management of the state-owned strategic facility and 100% shareholding company in the relevant agencies in the near future.
In turn,termination or completion of mediation procedures within 21 days from the start of the dispute,gives employees the right to use the legal strike.Ilia Lezhava,the vice-prezident of Georgian Railway Workers New Trade Union,saied:
“…There are already 4 500 signatures,where workers agree that if the negotiations fail,they are ready to take part in the strike.In the railway works 13 000 employees. If the administration call us before 10th august,or after 10th august,or during the strike,at any time we are ready for negotiations: to avoid a strike before it begins,or to end it soon,during the strike.”
Georgian Railway Workers New Trade Union,on August 10,will hold extraordinary board meeting,where will be determined the time and place for using the right of strike,obtained by the law.