Supermarket Chain Violating Labor Rights

Four employees of supermarket chain Nikora have accused the company of violating their labor rights, saying the management required them to buy outdated products from their stores.

The workers stated on 6 July that their salaries, ranging from $120–$180 per month, were regularly being cut without prior warning. The company told media that this was included in workers’ contracts, saying that employees were informed of this when they start working at Nikora. On 6 July, the company’s director Davit Urushadze confirmed the reports to TV Imedi but claimed employees were made to purchase only outdated products they had failed to remove from shelves.

However, one of the employees that went public with her complaint, told media that this was not the case, and that she found out about the rule several months after she took the job. According to her, workers had to buy outdated products from the shelves and even in storage, this after they had registered the expiration dates as required.

Another of the workers told the media she was not informed of the rule and that the company started to cut losses from her salary several months after she joined the team.

Some workers protesting against Nikora, stated that they allegedly received messages from current supervisors in an attempt to intimidate the group. One worker said it was regretful that other workers might feel pressured as she and the other three protest Nikora’s policies.

On 6 July, the Solidarity Network, a local labor rights group representing the four workers, said that two meetings between the company and the employees had ended without result.

The Solidarity Network, have stated that one of the workers had to work more than 90 hours weekly, while the labor code allows for no more than 40 excluding overtime. Their campaign exposing ‘wage theft’ said the workers’ salaries were ‘stolen’ from them and ‘from the state’ in the form of unpaid taxes by Nikora.

By Shawn Wayne