It is more than 10 days since the Poti port workers first went on strike. Up to November 6th 70% of Poti port workers were on strike but now all the workers have walked off their jobs. This has created considerable concern for Georgia’s neighbors Armenia and Azerbaijan. Since neither country has a real sea coast they are heavily reliant on Georgia’s Black Sea ports for access to the open seas. Armenian companies are doing their best to transport about 200 containers on to Batumi’s port for transshipment overseas and Azeri companies are doing the same. If the strike continues much longer companies who use Poti will take a considerable financial loss as Batumi’s port is simply not big enough to handle the amount of containers needed. Meanwhile Poti’s port authorities are trying to try to fix the situation. The strikers demand increased salaries and that port workers who were fired should be rehired.
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