On May 6, 2021, construction of the Rikoti Highway section connecting eastern and western Georgia—specifically the Kharagauli segment—was halted. Around 200 workers went on strike demanding a 30% wage increase and safer working conditions. They said their daily pay of 28–30 GEL barely covered food and transportation expenses.

The section was being built by the Chinese company Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group. The company’s local representative, Gizo Kutaladze, stated that the workers’ demands were being reviewed but that negotiations would only be held with a group of 10–15 representatives.

According to the New Railway Workers’ Union, the company failed to ensure good-faith negotiations, which escalated the crisis. The Roads Department under the Ministry of Infrastructure said it had initiated talks with the Chinese contractor to partially meet the workers’ demands.

It is unclear how this specific protest ended. The last report, published on May 8, confirmed that the strike was still ongoing.

Workers on Georgia’s highway construction projects have repeatedly gone on strike over the years, typically receiving promises of improved pay or working conditions:

• March 7, 2017: Workers on the Samtredia–Grigoleti highway protested delays in payment, low wages, and poor working conditions.
• August 7, 2019: Fifty workers in Samtredia struck after waiting three months for their salaries. The subcontractor Green Way promised to pay them within 15 days.
• August 16, 2019: In Zestafoni, around 150 highway construction workers protested unsafe conditions and low pay (22 GEL per day). The next day, the company promised to raise their wages to 35 GEL.
• October 2020: Drivers working for Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group also went on strike. The company later stated that most demands had been met and that remaining issues would be addressed “within reasonable limits.”
• April 19, 2023: Drivers employed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited protested low pay and unsafe working conditions. The company called on employees to submit formal complaints internally and pledged to review their demands “to reach a mutually acceptable solution.”