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City Hall staff salaries to increase in pre election period

Rezonansi writes that from January Tbilisi City Hall staff will be getting increased salaries. By the decision of Tbilisi City Council their salaries will be increased by GEL 100-200, not including high level employees.

This decision has been positively rated by City Council members from the opposition, however they think that it is in direct relation to the fact that it is now a pre election period in Georgia.

Tbilisi’s budget is GEL 648 million and out of this money 26,175,700 is spent on salaries, which is 3 million GEL more than last year. The staff of City Hall knew about the increasing salaries before City Council’s decision.

“We were informed in October of 2011 that from the next year, in 2012, our salaries would be increased by GEL 100-150. So where someone previously had a salary of GEL 600 he/she will now have 750. And when we began our first working week of the new year we were told that we will get our increased salaries at the end of the month,” one of the staff of City Hall said.



Solidarity for Media Freedom releases memorandum

A memorandum has been published today which can be signed by members of the new media union Solidarity for Media Freedom until February 1. According to the memorandum, “members of the Solidarity for Media Freedom - “Asaval - Dasavali”, “Alia Holding”, TV Company “Maestro”, “Media Palitra”, “Versia”, “Press.ge. TV”, “Obiektivi”, “Rezonansi”, “The Voice of Georgia” - say that the Georgian Government has been restricting media freedom since 2003, Rezonansi reports. The Government has been using financial, psychological, moral and political means to exert pressure on the media. Hence we have agreed to set up a non-government organization. Any independent media organization will be able to be affiliated with the NGO. Our main aim is to protect the members of the non-government organization from the Government’s illegal activities and to act jointly in the event of an attack by the Government on any member of the organization”.

According to the memorandum, the organization will only protect members of the union.

“Our memorandum is open to any independent media organization. If necessary we will organize rallies, manifests, charity and other kinds of events; we will establish contact with international organizations, European structures etc. The memorandum will be signed at the hall of media union “Obiektivi” on 1 February 2012,” the memorandum says.