On May 15, 2019, a group of Chiatura miners (employees of Georgian Manganese LLC) went on strike demanding a 50% pay raise. They also called for improvements in health insurance, working conditions (including better meals), and the city’s environmental situation by banning the movement of heavy vehicles through town.

At the time, “Georgian Manganese” employed around 3,500 workers, with an average monthly salary of 600 GEL. The strike led to the shutdown of all eleven mines owned by the company.

On May 17, the political secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Irakli Garibashvili, visited Chiatura and said that “the main problems raised by the miners are simple and completely understandable.” The same day, the party urged the company to meet all “fair demands” of the workers, warning that otherwise the government would intervene. Later that day, company representatives met with the miners, but negotiations failed. The company’s special manager requested three days to prepare a response, prompting further protests — fifteen miners went on hunger strike.

On the eighth day of the strike, May 23, Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze called on both sides to reach an agreement. The next day, miners organized a march through the city. On May 25, coal miners from Tkibuli expressed solidarity with them. On May 26, the tenth day of the hunger strike, one miner was hospitalized. That same day, Minister of Economy Natia Turnava stated that the company acknowledged the issues and would make a “dignified offer” to the strikers. However, another meeting between Georgian Manganese and the workers again ended without agreement.

Finally, on May 27, the miners and Georgian Manganese reached a settlement: wages would be increased by 35%, safety and healthcare measures improved, food quality enhanced, and workers compensated for the strike period. The strike ended later that day.