On November 7, 2019, 200 employees of the third and fourth units of the Gardabani Thermal Power Plant “Tbilsresi” began a strike demanding a 50 percent increase in salary. The protest took place on the territory of Tbilsresi.

According to the 200 striking employees, the administration had promised them a 15–20% pay raise starting in January, but even this increase was not guaranteed. The wages of employees at the power plant ranged from 400 to 800 GEL.

The plant administration stated that the salary increase depended on the decision of GNERC (the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission). If GNERC did not raise the electricity generation tariff, it would not be possible to increase salaries for employees.

Negotiations between the striking workers and the administration continued for several hours, but the workers left the building without reaching an agreement.

On November 9, the strikers announced that they agreed to a 300 GEL salary increase. Finally, on November 14, they reached an agreement with the employer that, starting from January 1, 2020, salaries would increase by 25% and a “13th salary” would be added. In addition, they would continue working on a collective agreement prepared by the Energy Workers’ Union.