Ambulance Workers, Health Ministry Reach Provisional Agreement

Ambulance workers protesting for fair wages and working hours reached a seemingly provisional agreement with the Georgian Ministry of Health, partially meeting their demands.

The deal came after the meeting with Deputy Health Minister Ilia Gudushauri after their latest protest on the morning of June 7. Workers had held several rallies demanding 100% raise, among others, since May 27.

Workers must now come up with a detailed plan for wage increases, in consultation with the Medicine Trade Union and the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), which they will present to the Ministry at their next meeting.

The Health Ministry said after the meeting that “the parties agreed to continue working on the calculation of remuneration while taking into account the workload.”

Irakli Petriashvili, GTUC Chair, told the media following the consultations that the salary scheme would be “formalized in the form of a contract, which in the end will guarantee that people will be able to work under these long-term commitments.”

A date for the next meeting has not been slated yet.