Podcast | Chiatura goes on strike

June 16, 2023 9:07 PM

‘Thousands’ of miners employed by Georgian Manganese in the mining town of Chiatura went on strike to protest working conditions in the mines. The miners demanded better pay, paid holiday and sick leaves, and the full resumption of production of mines after it had been put on hold for months. On this week’s episode, Robin Fabbro speaks to Mariam Nikuradze about the situation on the ground, and to the Social Justice Center’s Salome Shubladze about the legal challenges faced by the striking miners.

‘Thousands’ of miners go on strike in Chiatura

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Shukruti. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Chiatura

In Pictures | Living on the brink of collapse in Shukruti

Volodymyr Soboliev

••3 min read

In 2021, Vera Kupatadze was one of eight people who spent a month on hunger strike, her lips sewn shut, to demand compensation from Georgian Manganese for damage to her property. Today, Vera is one of dozens of Shukrutians who are demanding action and clarity from the company, which operates the mines in Chiatura, on the fate of their houses and the entire village. [Read more: Mine entrance blocked near Shukruti in renewed protest against Georgian Manganese] During the 2021 protests,

Residents of Shukruti in western Georgia in front of a mine in their village. Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Chiatura

Mine entrance blocked near Shukruti in renewed protest against Georgian Manganese

Tata Shoshiashvili

••4 min read

Residents of a village near the Georgian mining town of Chiatura have blocked access to a mine running under their village, to demand adequate compensation for the destruction of their village. Residents of Shukruti, in western Georgia, set up a tent outside the mine entrance on Wednesday, the latest in a series of protests against mining company Georgian Manganese. The land in and around Shukruti began to collapse in 2019, with Georgian Manganese initially denying any connection to the mine

Miners concluded their protest outside the parliament on 24 June. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Chiatura

Chiatura miners’ strike ends after company caves on key demands

Volodymyr Soboliev

••3 min read

A strike by manganese miners in the central Georgian town of Chiatura has come to an end after 18 days, with the mining company agreeing to key demands from the workers. On Saturday, mining firm Georgian Manganese agreed to reverse new ore quotas that miners had described as ‘inhuman’. They also agreed to honour their contractual obligation to increase salaries by 12%, in line with inflation. The miners went on strike after the company announced that workers would have to mine up to 40% more

A group of striking miners from Chiatura outside the parliament building in Tbilisi. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Alt Info

Why the far right is trying to infiltrate a miners’ strike in Georgia

Volodymyr Soboliev

••7 min read

Manganese miners from the central Georgian town of Chiatura have for weeks been on strike over their working conditions. But since a portion of the strikers moved their protest to the capital Tbilisi, far-right figures have been seen attempting to ingratiate themselves into the protests, leaving the miners unsure who to trust. When several dozen striking miners and their supporters arrived in Tbilisi on 19 June, their intention was to bring wider attention to their cause. And the strike resona