The disturbance in Tbilisi, Georgia, where employees of the Swedish online gambling business Evolution Gaming are on strike to demand improved working conditions and greater wages, continues. This comes less than a year after Evolution Gaming built its facility in the nation’s capital, where it now employs somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,500 locals.
The 30th of July marked the beginning of the protest action, which consisted of approximately 400 employees converging in front of the Evolution Gaming office in Tbilisi.
Increased Wages and Improvements to Working Conditions
Although a few of dealers, who receive compensation that is slightly more than that of shufflers, are also taking part in the strike, the majority of the angry workers are shufflers, who earn an average of US$140 per month. It has been reported that these workers are asking a wage boost of fifty percent, but that is not all they want.
In addition, workers of Evolution Gaming are dissatisfied with the conditions under which they are required to work in the Tbilisi headquarters of the company. Employees have reportedly complained to local media sites that they are forced to deal with malfunctioning air conditioners and exposure to biting insects at their place of employment, and they have demanded that these concerns be repaired as a matter of urgency in order to satisfy their demands.
Abandoned Via Text Messages And Emails
In addition to their demands regarding pay raises and improvements in working conditions, the Georgian employees of Evolution Gaming are also asking on guarantees of immunity from disciplinary action for workers who participate in the strike. This is in addition to their demands regarding pay raises and improvements in working circumstances. In addition to this, they are requesting the reinstatement of a number of workers who were fired after the strike was initially initiated.
Reports indicate that after the strike on the 30th of July, Evolution Gaming fired approximately 45 employees, giving a variety of reasons for each individual termination. In addition, it is reported that these workers were sent an email or a text message informing them that the contracts they were working under had been terminated.
Employees have been even more dissatisfied as a result of these widespread layoffs, and on July 31, the day after the initial protests began, they made the choice to organize themselves into a union in response. After then, this new union submitted a request for mediation to the Georgian Labour Ministry, which is said to have already selected a mediator for this particular purpose.
Questions Regarding the Legality of Evolution Strike
Evolution Gaming has made it known to the local media that the company respects the employees’ right to freedom of expression and is completely open to having a conversation with those workers who are looking for better working conditions and remuneration. However, the company insisted that it would not tolerate unlawful strikes and cast doubt on whether or not the protest action was legal according to Georgian law.
Employees in Georgia are permitted to go on strike as long as they comply with the country’s labor code. This legislation requires, among other things, that employees provide their employers with a notice of intent to strike that is at least 21 days in advance. Participating employees have disclosed that they will continue their protest action on the 22nd of August 2019, in light of this. According to them, further layoffs are to be expected in the near future, which is especially concerning when one considers the fact that Evolution Gaming only just employed 150 new staff for its operations in Tbilisi.
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