(Read full article on civil.ge)

About 400 employees of the Social Service Agency in 31 cities and municipalities across Georgia will go on strike starting this Monday, unless their demands for higher salaries and better working conditions are met.

After some four-month-long failed negotiations with the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs, the employees filed today an official notice about the strike.

The Solidarity Network, an independent labor union that assists the employees, on January 13 unveiled a list of nine demands of the workers, including 100% raises in the monthly salaries of social agents and senior social agents as well as the specialists and senior and chief specialists.

The base monthly salary of social agents and senior social agents amounts to GEL 250 (USD 80) and GEL 550 (USD 180), respectively. Besides, social agents earn per examined case a commission of GEL 6 (USD 1.95), an amount they also demand to be doubled.