Nugzar Nemsitsveridze has worked as an ambulance doctor for the last 14 years, but still struggles to make ends meet on the 1,200 laris (475 US dollars) he earns each month.
The 40-year-old Tbilisi resident is one of hundreds of emergency medical workers in Georgia who have been protesting against stagnating wages and working conditions in an upsurge of labour actions over the past year.
“Our main demand is a pay rise. I have eight 24-hour shifts a month and I could take two more, but after the protests, we were deprived of this opportunity. They’d rather hire new people,” Nemsitsveridze told IWPR.
Salaries for emergency medical workers are determined by the number of 24-hour shifts they work, which are limited to eight per month. A senior doctor receives about 175 laris per shift (70 US dollars), while a junior doctor’s wage is lower. State employees are enrolled in a state-provided health insurance, but workers in private clinics have to pay these fees from their salary.
Alongside low wages in the health care system, workers complain that the state body, the Emergency Situations Coordination and Urgent Assistance Centre (EMSC) is also taking away part of what they claim is due.
In May 2022, hundreds protested after the government announced its decision to cancel pandemic-related bonuses because all Covid-19 restrictions had been lifted.
The bonuses, amounting to 50 per cent of salaries, were introduced to compensate for the the emergency during the pandemic.
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