Appeal for donations: 5000 euros to support the miners' struggle in Chiatura, Georgia!
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- Created: Thursday, 09 January 2025 18:33
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On 1 November, immediately after the elections in Georgia, the manganese mines in Chiatura were closed down, while the open-cast mining of various cooperatives was not stopped. Around 3,000 miners and 2,000 metalworkers from the group ‘Georgian Managanese Ltd’ were locked out and asked to accept a 40-60% pay cut, which they rightly refused to do.
They are supposed to accept wage cuts, the banks are breathing down their necks because of their high debts, and the villagers are supposed to accept subsidence damage to their houses without adequate compensation. The justified protest of those affected is being criminalised and attempts are being made to play them off against the miners' jobs.
The background to this is the worldwide collapse in manganese prices due to speculation. Commodity companies around the world are passing their crisis on to the miners. After the suspension of work, the company promised its employees compensation amounting to 60% of their wages and salaries. But after negotiations in December, it was only agreed that the compensation would be paid for part of the wages and salaries from 15 November. Only 700 employees were compensated; on 25 November, the amount already earned was to be distributed to more than 2,000 employees. However, the company did not pay the compensation.
The miners formed a miners‘ initiative group that demanded the freezing of bank debts. ’We have decided to fight until our demands are met," the manganese miners of Chiatura, Georgia, declared in November 2024.
Their demands are: improvements in pay, health and safety measures, and environmental protection. The miners are underlining their demands and defending themselves against reprisals such as ‘threats, blackmail, attempts at division and psychological pressure’. In order to wage a fight, the necessary financial means are needed to organise it. The preparatory group for the development of the European coordination is committed to collecting donations to strengthen the fighting strength of the miners in Chiatura and to forward 100% of these donations to the initiative group of the miners in Chiatura.
The initiative group in Chiatura is committed to publishing up-to-date reports for the miners in Europe, to use the donations in the interest of the miners' fighting strength and to account for them. Solidarity International has taken over the administration of the donation account.
Donation account:
Account holder: ‚Solidarität International e.V. ‚(solidarity international)
IBAN: DE86 5019 0000 6100 8005 84
BIC: FFVB DEFF (Frankfurter Volksbank Rhein/Main)
Donation keyword: Miners' solidarity in Georgia
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