On May 1, 2013, International Workers’ Day, the student group “Laboratory 1918” organized a demonstration demanding better working conditions in Georgia. The young activists gathered in the university yard and unfurled a banner reading “Freedom, Equality, Solidarity.” Their message was reinforced by slogans on placards such as “You Don’t Need a Boss,” “Wage Labor = Wage Life,” “Hours for Work, Seconds for Life,” “We Work Like Donkeys, Foremen Eat,” “May 1 – Day of Struggle,” “Worker, Not Slave,” “Down with English Capitalism,” “Power to the Workers,” “No to the Sexist Labor Code,” and “Men to the Kitchen, Women to Parliament.”

The organizers called on participants to fight for decent labor conditions and employment rights, emphasizing the need to pressure the government to take social issues more seriously. During the protest, members of “Laboratory 1918” read their manifesto and presented four key demands:

1. To declare May 1 a public holiday,
2. To introduce unemployment compensation,
3. To ensure worker participation in workplace management, and
4. To adopt a fair labor code.

Several organizations joined the rally, including the “Union of the Blind of Georgia” (with the slogan “The Protection of Our Rights Is in Our Hands”), the “Young Greens of Georgia,” and the “Independent Feminist Group.”

The demonstration then turned into a march along Rustaveli Avenue. The dispersal began when police near the Cinema House instructed protesters not to step off the sidewalk. However, according to students, the crowd was too large to remain on the sidewalk, and some moved onto the street. Police, including plainclothes officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, began detaining protesters. In total, around 15 demonstrators were arrested, and the court fined five students 400 GEL each.

According to Liberali magazine, which reported on May 15, 2013, “The May 1 rally proved to be a turning point in the two-year history of this student movement. The clash with police and the detention of about thirty activists brought to light many challenges — from internal organization to public perception. Some members even spoke about disbanding. When discussing the future, they admitted that organization remained their weakest point — one that is vital to the movement’s survival.”

After May 18, 2013, nothing new was posted on “Laboratory 1918’s” Facebook page, and no further information about their activities appeared in the media.