Industry

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Feature Stories

Inside Georgia’s textile industry: Part III — Control

by Tamuna Chkareuli

•17 min read

Robots ferry containers of Nike shirts across the factory floor while plasma screen televisions drive workers to labour ever faster. In the third and final part of OC Media’s exposé on Georgia’s textile industry, investigative journalist Tamuna Chkareuli infiltrates a high-tech factory in Poti. [In this multi-part series, OC Media went inside Georgia’s factories for a first-hand account of the working conditions. Read Part I and Part II] Imagine you’re a woman in her forties from the indus

Feature Stories

Inside Georgia’s textile industry: Part II — Undercover

by Tamuna Chkareuli

•22 min read

Threats, corruption, nervous breakdowns, and $4,000 coats. In part two of OC Media’s exposé on Georgia’s textile industry, investigative journalist Tamuna Chkareuli goes undercover at the Geo-M-Tex factory in Tbilisi. [In this multi-part series, OC Media went inside Georgia’s factories for a first-hand account of the working conditions. Read Part I here.] It was easy to get a job at the Geo-M-Tex factory. The Human Resources manager did not ask many questions — just briefly explained that a

alaverdi

Armenia’s copper capital no longer? The uncertain future of Alaverdi

by Gayane Mkrtchyan

•8 min read

For years the copper smelter was the economic heart of Alaverdi, but its operation came at a price, the plant spewed thousands of tonnes of toxic emissions into the air. Today the smelter’s terrible environmental record finally caught up with it. Karen Petrosyan, one of the few residents of Alaverdi who is still employed at the smelter, told OC Media that he is one of only 230 remaining employees — less than 2% of the city’s population of 13,000. But despite having the title of ‘employee’,

Feature Stories

Inside Georgia’s textile industry: Part I — Unions

by Tamuna Chkareuli

•15 min read

Georgia’s textile industry is plagued by low salaries and rife with labour abuses. In this multi-part series, OC Media went inside the factories for a first-hand account. In part I, we look at how employees are organising and how the unions work (or don’t) at the Kutex and Imeri factories in Kutaisi. ‘Who has been told, “If you don’t like it, go home?” ’ the union organiser asks. All the women raise their hands. Later they add that they have heard harsher things too — ‘Fuck off’ or, ‘

Feature Stories

The coexistence of the ‘old’ and the ‘new’: a Soviet monotown in Georgia

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•7 min read

The concept of industrial monotowns popular in the Soviet Union proved ineffective in the context of the market economy. Many city-forming enterprises have become completely uncompetitive — but cities continue to live. ‘The plant was powerful! And this power was visible, at least throughout Georgia. Everyone would envy Rustavi!’ — says Givi Zurashvili, a resident of Rustavi who worked at a metallurgical plant for 40 years. ‘I entered the factory right after school — in 1970’, he says,

A factory in Rustavi. Photo: Tamuna Chkareuli/OC Media.

air pollution

In pictures | Rustavi: The city of factories

by Tamuna Chkareuli

•4 min read

The former Soviet industrial centre of Rustavi has long been perceived as a city of factories. Spewing toxic fumes into their surroundings, the factories have led to ‘alarming’ levels of air pollution in the city — and local activists, backed by the city council, are getting fed up. In the past, Rustavi’s numerous factories played an active role in the city’s development — they financed a stadium, organised cultural events, and sponsored various youth programmes. Today, around 22 factories a

Coal Power

North Ossetia’s toxic choice

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•7 min read

Residents of North Ossetia’s capital Vladikavkaz have long sounded the alarm at the environmental condition of their city. Many blame Electrozinc, a metallurgical plant located inside the city. But there is another side of the coin, and for the factory’s 2,000 employees, their very livelihoods depend on the plant. Electrozinc is an industrial enterprise and the largest taxpayer and investor in North Ossetia. It contributed around ₽300 million ($5.4 million) to the republic’s budget in 2017.