Posted on: August 20, 2024, 10:00h.
Last updated on: August 20, 2024, 10:05h.
Three employees of online gaming tech provider Evolution in Tbilisi, Georgia, have gone on hunger strike to demonstrate against poor pay and working conditions.
The workers, Tamar Ansian, Makhare Patashuri, and Luka Nadiradze, adopted the extreme form of protest on August 12, according to JAMNews, a news outlet covering Eastern Europe’s Caucasus region. The trio have said they won’t eat until the demands of striking workers are met.
More than 4,000 Evolution Georgia employees – around half the workforce – began striking on July 12. Evolution is a B2B casino software provider that specializes in live casino streams. Many of the disgruntled workers are game presenters or croupiers who deal games from behind TV cameras in studios located at the Tbilisi offices.
Difficult Conditions
Employees claim they work for little money in poor working conditions, according to Evo Union, the trade union that organized the strike. They have reported dirty, unhygienic tables and mosquito infestations that have left some employees with severe skin conditions, infections, and allergies. Workers must sit upright for hours in uncomfortable chairs under bright lights and in poor air conditioning, according to the union.
A full-time game presenter can earn up to US$329 per month for day shifts and US$450 for night shifts, according to Evolution Georgia’s payment policy. But workers claim that net hourly wages actually come in at around US$1 for dealers, and $1.8 for game presenters.
These workers can earn additional monthly bonuses of US$110 to US$145, but bonuses are often lost if they end a shift early because they are unwell, which happens often because of the long hours and allegedly unsanitary conditions. The average hourly wage in Tbilisi is around US$5.50.
The last straw for workers appears to have been the leaking of Facebook conversations between Evolution managers in which some employees were mocked in an overtly racist and sexist manner.
List of Demands
The union has a long list of demands, which includes pay hikes, annual inflation adjustments, more breaks during shifts, a safer working environment, better health benefits, and the right to menstrual leave. It also wants Evolution to incorporate a system that enables players to tip dealers.
Evolution has called the strike “illegal” and warned that it will be forced to “make operational adjustments, including larger-scale layoffs of employees to reduce our presence in Georgia” if the situation is not resolved.
“We have spent six years investing in the country, offering first-time employment to many Georgians, and the situation is highly regrettable both for Evolution as well as for the many working employees who will be affected by these actions,” the company said in an August 1 Facebook post.
