The great determination of the striking employees of Evolution Georgia. We know the goals of the strike!

Evolution Georgia, which employs almost 8,000 people and provides services to numerous international online casinos, has suffered a major strike due to recent internal conflicts and exposure of discriminatory practices. Our editorial office has therefore tried to contact Evolution, but to date (July 12, 2024) we have not received any information.

We also contacted the Trade Union, which is helping Evolution employees with the strike. Thanks to this, we learned the goals of the strike, workers’ demands and the possible duration of the strike.

Huge determination of the strikers

Below are all the questions and answers we received from the Trade Union that is organizing the strike.

Tomorrow at 12:00 the strike of Evolution employees will begin. How will it proceed, what is planned for tomorrow?

The strike started on July 12 at 12:00 p.m. In the vicinity of three buildings of Evolution Georgia located in Tbilisi. The strike will be represented by various performances (obviously, we cannot announce everything in advance), we will try to make the whole country aware of how bad and degrading conditions Georgian youth, students, and the future of the country have to work. During the last 10 days, a number of activists, organizations, artists, influencers, YouTube channel presenters have expressed their solidarity and they will join the protest on July 12 at 19:00. The strike will be 24 hours long and will last for life, meaning it will last until the workers reach an agreement on terms acceptable to them.

Georgian media is actively covering the strike, which we think will help us to strengthen public support. If necessary, as in other strikes, we will announce a charitable campaign of financial support for the strike, so that the employees do not stop the strike due to the fear of non-payment of loans, rent, tuition fees. Evolution Georgia has been manipulating this all these years, and the Georgian people will not allow the oppression of young people.

In addition, even before the strike and during the strike, if Evolution Georgia tries to directly or indirectly pressure anyone, violates the Georgian legislation, we have immediately contacted and will contact all competent authorities.

How many people will ultimately take part in the strike, because initially there were talks of several thousand employees, and Carl Linton, Evolution’s head of investor relations, told Next that less than 500 people would take part in the strike?

The established behavior of employers in Georgia is to impose a disciplinary penalty on an employee participating in a collective labor dispute, to dismiss them from work, to intimidate or recruit them with various promises through illegal forms of direct communication, to treat them in a discriminatory manner on various grounds, which is evidenced by the annual reports of the Public Defender of Georgia, as well as by the Public Defender on July 10, Evolution Georgia Statement made to the address. [1]Because of this, employees often refrain from openly reporting to their employers that they swear. This is what is happening now during the strike at Evolution Georgia. That is why the union initially provided the company with a list of only those who agreed to openly record their participation in the strike with the employer. The number of such individuals is increasing every hour and we are constantly providing updated data to Evolution Georgia. We cannot say exactly how many people are participating in the strike, again due to the safety of our own members. The explanation of the representative of Evolution Georgia does not correspond to reality, he is simply trying to present the situation as if the majority of employees are satisfied with working here.

The strike will last one day, do you plan to continue it in the following days?

As mentioned above, the strike is for life and will continue until the employees reach an agreement on terms acceptable to them. The union will make every effort to conclude an agreement in the best interests of the employees.

What are the goals of the strike and what do employees want to achieve ?

The purposes of the strike are:

• doubling the current salary;
• annual salary increase in proportion to the inflation rate;
• protection of the appropriate microclimate and hygienic norms for human health at the workplace, so that infectious skin diseases do not spread, prevent harm to the health of employees;
• a work environment free from discrimination, degrading treatment;
• Dismissal of managers who are exposed in discriminatory treatment of subordinates on various grounds;
• Amendment of labor contracts and internal regulations in such a way that, on the one hand, they comply with the legislation of Georgia, on the other hand, they do not reflect only the interests of the employer, and the legal interests and needs of the employees are taken into account;
• medical station and doctor at the workplace;
• additional paid leave due to menstruation in the amount of 3 days for female employees;
• Enjoying vacation without obstacles;
• Signing lifelong labor contracts with the probationers participating in the strike in order to avoid their dismissal on the basis of “failure to complete the probationary period” after the strike;
• conclusion of a collective agreement and result-oriented rather than formal (“meeting for meeting”) cooperation with the trade union as representatives of employees;
• and others. The notice we sent during the mediation covered 39 disputed issues.

Do you seek compromise with the Evolution authorities if one is presented to you?

We were always ready for compromises and we are ready now, we have been trying to negotiate with Evolution Georgia for two years, but we faced a deaf wall. We will allow compromises within reason and not at the expense of neglecting the best interests of employees. We do not make agreements for the sake of agreements. However long the strike may take, we envision an agreement that is only fair, balanced and tailored to the essential needs of employees.

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How will this end?

The matter is very serious because Trade Unions are involved, as well as the Georgia Ombudsman. We are talking about a very large strike involving several thousand people. The strike is also covered in the Georgian media and it can be said that it arouses considerable interest.

According to some employees, there were very serious violations at Evolution. Employees want dramatic changes in the treatment of employees, and their demands are really high. However, they emphasize that they will strike as long as necessary. Will the strike be successful? Time will tell.

Our iGaming Express editorial team continues to monitor the matter closely and will report on all developments in the strike.