Podcast | Why are Evolution Georgia’s employees on strike?

August 15, 2024 6:52 PM

On 12 July, employees of Evolution Georgia, an online gambling platform, began a strike demanding better working conditions and pay and an end to abusive behaviour by the company’s management. Evolution Georgia, which positions itself as a leading employer of students, is a subsidiary of a company headquartered in Sweden.

This week, we spoke to Giorgi Kajaia, an Evolution Georgia employee on strike, about why he chose to go on strike and the employees’ demands, and to the Social Justice Center’s Salome Shubladze about the legal aspects of the strike, and Evolution Georgia’s obligations towards the striking employees.

Striking employees stage sit-in outside Evolution Georgia offices

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Protesters outside the Swedish Embassy in Tbilisi on 16 September. Image: Shota Kincha/OC Media.

Evolution Gaming

Striking Evolution Georgia employees protest outside Swedish Embassy in Tbilisi

Shota Kincha

••3 min read

Organisers of the strike against the online gaming service Evolution Georgia, now entering its third month, arranged a protest in front of the Swedish Embassy in Tbilisi. On Monday, around 15 striking employees shifted their demonstration to the Swedish Embassy in Tbilisi for the day, criticising what they described as the embassy’s defence of Evolution Georgia. The Embassy became the target of criticism after it praised Evolution Georgia for its ‘healthy and supportive workplace’, amidst an

Evolution Georgia

Georgian labour rights advocates challenge Evolution at OECD

OC Media

••2 min read

The Social Justice Centre (SJC), a Tbilisi-based advocacy group, have announced that they have filed a complaint with the Swedish ‘contact points’ at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on behalf of striking employees of Evolution Georgia. Employees of Evolution Georgia, primarily card shufflers and game presenters, began their strike on 12 July, claiming the support of thousands behind them. They held sit-ins at the entrances of the Evolution Georgia premises in

Evolution Gaming

Striking employees stage sit-in outside Evolution Georgia offices

Shota Kincha

••2 min read

Twenty-one days into a strike demanding better pay and working conditions, employees of Evolution Georgia escalated their protest by beginning a sit-in at the company’s main office entrances in Tbilisi. The workers, primarily game presenters, pledged not to physically obstruct anyone from entering the premises but stated that those wishing to do so would have to ‘step over’ them. During the sit-in, several men who appeared to be company security pushed protesters away from the entrance. Whil