Employees and employers across Georgia participated in a three-hour strike on 15 January to demand new elections in the Black Sea country and the release of all those unlawfully detained at anti-government, pro-EU street protests which have been held nightly in the capital Tbilisi since November last year.

Strikes are a very new phenomenon in Georgian politics, and this first attempt was framed by the activist organisers as a “warning” to the contested Georgian Dream government, with further action to follow if protesters’ demands are not met.

At 3pm thousands walked out of their workplaces and businesses shut up shop across the country, later reopening at 6pm.

In the capital, where engagement was highest, many cafes, shops and bars displayed signs in their windows that they would be closed for the three-hour strike period, and employees and members of offices, universities and banks stood outside holding banners, blowing whistles, and demanding justice for those detained at street rallies.

Georgia’s former president, Salome Zourabichvili, who is still regarded by many as Georgia’s legitimate head of state, was spotted among the strikers. “The Georgian people are experienced when it comes to [confronting] regimes … I stand with these people,” said Zourabichvili, whose term ended in December last year but has vowed to Georgians that she will continue her duties as their president.

In Tbilisi’s trendy Marjanishvili district, the entire staff of the Fabrika hostel, from receptionists to apron-clad ramen chefs, stood on the steps in front of the former Soviet textiles factory, which in 2016 was converted into a multi-functional space offering bars, cafes and a co-working area. “No Justice, no peace,” read the large banner two employees were holding up.

The strike comes amid a wave of unrest which has gripped the country since the October 2024 parliamentary elections, which the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party is accused of rigging. Demonstrations in Tbilisi kicked off on November 28, following an announcement by the government that Georgia would be suspending its EU membership bid until 2028.

Following a period of broadly peaceful protests since the New Year, GD authorities have resumed repressive measures against protesters, with dozens arrested in both Batumi and Tbilisi on the weekend of January 11-12, including high profile journalist Mzia Amaglobeli who is facing prison time for alleged assault on a police officer. Meanwhile Giorgi Gakharia, leader of the pro-Western opposition party For Georgia, was assaulted by GD MPs in a Batumi hotel on the night of January 14. In Abu Dhabi, several ruling party MPs attacked a Georgian man after he accused them of being “Russian slaves”.

In a display of defiance and condemnation of recent hostilities, and the continued detention of those arrested at protests, employees of several large companies took part in the walk out, including McDonald’s and one of Georgia’s largest banks, TBC, which, despite not officially joining the strike, affirmed its support for any of its employees who chose to leave their desks at 3pm.

Perhaps most remarkable was the participation of several businesses with close links to the ruling party. The café chain Dunkin’ Donuts, the rights to which are owned by government-aligned businessman Soso Phakadze, stuck posters in their windows announcing it had joined the strike and that its country “deserves its freedom”.

The walk out occurred spontaneously and at a grassroots level, with businesses independently opting to take part or not. According to local news outlet OC Media, the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), the largest labour organisation in Georgia, previously defied public calls to announce a strike, citing that, by Georgian law, strikes for any reason other than complaints regarding working condition are illegal.   

According to OC Media, the GTUC has come under fire in the past for its close links to GD. In the days leading up to the strike, however, Giorgi Diasamidze, chair of GTUC member LABOR, published a video address calling on Georgians to participate.

"I know that your voice has never been heard and no one has listened to your voice, I know that you have many challenges and problems, but for our country, for the future of this country, I call on you to strike on January 15 for this country, for the democratic processes of this country," Diasamidze said.

Pockets of demonstrators emerged around the city as the strike progressed on January 15, picketing outside workplaces before heading towards Rustaveli Avenue as six o’clock approached for a march down Tbilisi’s main drag to parliament, where they took up their usual evening protest stations.

Although medical staff did not join for the full three hours due to the essential nature of the service they provide, staff wore stickers on their scrubs announcing their support for the action, and PSP, one of Georgia’s largest pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy chains, held a symbolic five-minute strike before resuming its work.

In Batumi on Georgia’s Black Sea coast, students at the city’s Arts University stood shoulder to shoulder at the entrance of their institution, stating they would “occupy the university lobby until our demands are met”.

The spirit of the afternoon was broadly one of determination and solidarity, but an incident was reported in Tbilisi’s northern Saburtalo district, after strikers assembled outside a Carrefour supermarket were verbally abused and then attacked with bats by a group of unknown men. Local outlet JamNews reported that eggs were thrown at strikers from a residential building on the same street.

Since Georgia’s resistance movement began last autumn, so-called “titushky” assailant thugs have carried out several brutal attacks on journalists, opposition members and regular protesters.  

Wednesday’s action followed a strike by 43 Georgian TV channels and media outlets on January 14, a response to a court ruling sentencing Amaglobeli to pretrial detention.