New wave of labor protests hits Georgia, 06 February 2023

Multiple labor protests in recent days have highlighted festering grievances over rising consumer prices and poor social protection for workers in key Georgian service sectors. Delivery couriers, taxi drivers, camera operators, and medical workers have all staged rallies or downed tools to demand better pay. 

On February 5, deafening sounds of motorbike honks were heard in Tbilisi as scores of couriers working for Wolt, a leading international delivery service, drove through the streets to demand better compensation...

According to delivery workers, their work is falsely presented as an easy and comfortable way to earn money. Wolt has advertised flexible working hours with high pay, promising workers – whom the company calls "partners" – the opportunity to earn up to GEL 4,000 (about $1,500) per month. 

The workers claim that in fact they are not paid enough given the risks they must take to reach their destinations: Tbilisi streets are notorious for unsafe traffic; this is compounded by adverse weather, particularly in winter. And further grievances arose from recent changes in the navigation app, which, couriers claim, under-calculates the distance they cover, resulting in significant income losses...

Wolt responded on February 6 with a statement, claiming it had already announced a new pay calculation method to be introduced in mid-February that will offer fairer and more flexible payments...

Wolt did, however, assert it was working to correct navigation inaccuracies and improve workers' insurance packages.

After the demonstration, many of the protesters went to join a separate rally organized by another group of gig workers – drivers of Bolt, a leading international company offering taxi and delivery services in Georgia.

In Bolt's case, recently lowered trip fares are a key reason for protest. The change of price, drivers claim, is costing them money while the share that goes to the company has more than doubled, accounting for up to a quarter of what a customer pays. Another concern is what they have described as the dysfunctional communication with the company amid the absence of a call center to help them solve day-to-day problems...