7th day of protest: workers at Borjomi mineral water plant announce large-scale rallies

Workers of bottling factories at Borjomi mineral water plants in central Georgia who went on strike on May 18 demanding higher salaries and better working conditions have announced large-scale rallies in Borjomi if the company does not meet their demands.

• 350 workers of Borjomi mineral water plant on strike

In response, Borjomi states that the organiser of the strike, the trade union, 'should stay away from the process'.

• Borjomi mineral water company says it is ready to raise salaries of workers on strike

Protesters say that if the company does not carry on with negotiations by the end of the day, they will picket the streets starting tomorrow morning. Also, they will gather at the plant building, where they will not allow the administration to enter the territory of the plant.

So far, they are not coming to the negotiation table. They want to negotiate without a trade union, which we do not agree with," said one of the strikers.

The workers of Borjomi bottling factories claim that their salaries were reduced by 200-250 GEL in the past year. They demand a salary raise by 50%, however express readiness to agree to a 30% pay raise as well.