LABOR, a union representing Evolution Georgia workers, has petitioned the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, Finansinspektionen, to review the gaming supplier’s public filings.
In a separate letter, the union has warned Evolution’s shareholders that the company’s “adversarial treatment of employees who seek to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining rights undermines the core feature of its business model”.
The actions of LABOR follow an ongoing situation in Georgia, where over half of the 8,000 Evolution Gaming workers in Tbilisi have been on strike since 12 July, protesting about “low wages, unsanitary working conditions and other unfair labour practices”.
In total, 44 concerns have been raised by workers to the company, including safety and health issues such as “ventilation and temperature control issues and unsanitary work environments”.
Evolution Gaming employee Makhare Patashuri, a worker on strike, stated: “We asked for basic things like having a doctor on-site and addressing sanitation issues. They rejected everything, leaving us no choice but to strike.
“Evolution has built its business on the shoulders of its workers in Georgia and they’re expanding in the United States and elsewhere. If this is how they’re treating us it should be a sign to investors about their business practices going forward.”
Within its statement, LABOR noted that Evolution “adheres to OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, under which investors have a responsibility to use their influence with companies to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts”.
However, the union has stated that on 1 August, workers striking during a sit-in at the company’s headquarters were “met with violence and intimidation” with more than 1,000 workers being “laid off in retaliation”.
LABOR added that Evolution has been “accused of sharing hundreds of strikers’ personal information and risking their safety, and on the night of September 15, one of the strike organisers was attacked near his home”.
Giorgi Diasamidze, Leader of the Trade Union LABOR, said: “The strikers have been locked out and kicked out. Insulting remarks and workplace conflicts are becoming more frequent, and that’s what brought even more people out in protest.
“Evolution’s shareholders need to take a hard look at their investment and hold the company accountable for honouring the fundamental rights of the workers whose labour is crucial to the success and healthy reputation of the company.”
LABOR concluded its statement by saying: “Evolution cannot afford to discount the importance of maintaining a stable, fairly compensated, duly respected gaming workforce at its main hub. Stakeholders in Evolution have a common interest with LABOR members in preserving the viability of Evolution’s long-term market position”.
CasinoBeats has reached out to Evolution for a comment on the LABOR statement.
