Strikers, Mayor Reach Agreement, Metro Reopens

Tbilisi metro opened at 2 pm today after train drivers, who went on a strike on June 3, managed to negotiate a deal with Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze early morning on June 6.

Rati Kapanadze, head of the Ertoba 2013, a professional union of metro train drivers that led the strike, stressed after the meeting that the sides struck a deal and that the metropolitan would reopen today.

“The minimum [salary] rate that we have been requesting, will be met,” said Kapanadze, without specifying further details of the agreement.

Kakha Kaladze spoke on the matter at the municipality government sitting today, saying he informed the metro drivers of the financial situation in the municipality, and stressed he would “return” to their demands in 2019.

Metro drivers went on a strike Monday morning demanding 45% increase in salaries, which now stand at 1 100 – 1 200 GEL (445 – 485 USD), according to media reports.

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, who held three rounds of negotiations with the strikers, has been maintaining that neither Tbilisi Transport Company, the capital’s transport authority, nor Tbilisi City Hall, have enough financial resources to meet their demands.

Tbilisi Metro that has been operating in the Georgian capital since 1966, has two lines and 23 stations and serves approximately 600 thousand passengers daily, from 6 am till midnight. Metro drivers’ strike caused heavy traffic all across the city.

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