Georgia: striking social workers demand meeting with MPH head

On the second day of their strike, social workers continued their action near the building of the Ministry of Public Health (MPH) of Georgia, seeking a meeting with the minister. Apart from higher salaries, they demand annual indexing thereof with account of the inflation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 17, social workers went on a strike, reporting that their salaries had not been raised for the last 13-15 years and demanded a 100% salary increase and signing a collective agreement.

In Georgia, the strike of social workers is on for the second day; about 400 employees of the Social Services Agency that operates under the country's MPH refused to go to work. Several dozen strikers continue their protest near the Georgian MPH, the "News-Georgia" has reported.

The strikers demand a meeting with Zurab Azarashvili, the Minister, said David Omsarashvili, a lawyer with the independent professional association "Solidarity Network". "First of all, we ask for a meeting with the MPH Minister. As for other demands, they include the annual salary revision in line with the inflation level; reimbursement of public transport fares, and medical insurance," the "News-Georgia" quotes Mr Omsarashvili as stating.

The strikers promise not to stop strikes and rallies until their demands are met.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 18, 2022 at 07:00 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.