Member Info for Looed

If pointing out the reality of the situation in terms of senator comms is being a killjoy then guilty as charged. if you guys get a response or something happens as a result of your comments I will be first in line to admit I called it wrong.

You wrote - 'get commenting!!!" which I take as you insisting people comment.

You also wrote "Jesus, whose side are you on" Well I can't speak for Jesus, but I am on the side of not wasting peoples time with well intentioned though ultimately pointless exercises. The senator doesn't 'need' your support - he is already well supported by FRR. we should take comfort in that.

So you demand people do something you yourself haven't done! How about you make contact, see if it pans out as you hoped, share the outcome with us, then people can decide what steps, if any they can take.

I won't pat myself on the back as that wasn't the point. I just prefer to check what is / isn't possible before making demands of others.

Investmentboy - US senators will listen and respond to their constituents and people / groups that pay their lobby fees. As a senator, his job is not to become a representative or communication channel for us as we not in his district and not paying him lobby fees. I am not being 'unhelpful' just pointing out that it is unlikely your idea will work in the way you think it will. AFAIK senators don't even manage their own comms. Messages, however heartfelt, may just be ignored.

investmentboy - as per US senate protocol -

"Please be aware that as a matter of professional courtesy, many senators will acknowledge, but not respond to, a message from another senator's constituent." or indeed other country. Just pointing out that any comments are unlikely to receive any reply, though that doesn't mean they won't be read.

https://www.senate.gov/general/contacting.htm

The article is in Georgian but its a Russian website.

I am not going to cut and paste the whole thing as its a summary of stuff that's already been reported. The article starts by saying the workers want their jobs back yet ends with the 'no oil here' claim.

I will cut and paste this bit as it does seem to refer to the arbitration -

"However, according to the Georgian Oil and Gas Agency, the company has not yet submitted the works needed to transfer the specified resources. The volume of gas reserves confirmed by Frontera Resources at that time is 1 925 million cubic meters.
Kakha Kaladze, who headed the Ministry of Energy in 2015, said in a statement about the company's plans that there was a lack of gas either in Turkmenistan or in other countries.
"There may be some supplies underground, but to prove it, it is necessary to invest billions, and only after confirmation has to be made - how important it is, and so to speak, to make this gas financially, commercially, business-wise. Here we are talking not about hundreds of millions, but about billions of dollars of investments, "the minister said.
According to him, Frontera has been working in Georgia for 20 years, and the contract presented by him annually is no suggestion for these works.
Everything is related to money
As opposition MP Roman Gotsiridze said earlier, Frontera's goal, which has "discovered" more gas in Georgia than in Kuwait, is to deceive the Georgian government into a lie."

Source - https://sputnik-georgia.com/reviews/20200207/247678219/--------.html

Note - this is the site that published the video yesterday - this seems a more 'detailed' version of the original article

There is a mention of FRR

"The former mayor of Batumi Guiorgui Ermakov (2014-2017) is sent to prison for money laundering.
January 26: The opposition Alliance des Patriotes party protests and requests the ban of the American NGOs National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute, which the protesters accuse of interfering in the internal affairs of Georgia.
January 25: Roger Wicker, senator from the United States (R-Mississippi), sends a letter to the Georgian government to compliment democratic developments in Georgia and the conflict between Tbilisi and the oil company Frontera Resources.
January 23: Congressman Brian Babin of the United States (R-Texas), sends a letter to the Georgian government outlining his concerns about the democratic development of Georgia. This letter takes place in the context of the conflict between Tbilisi and the oil company Frontera Resources.
January 22: Ombudsman Nino Lomjaria and Minister of Justice Tea Tsouloukiani publicly oppose following the publication of a report by Lomjaria on the state of Georgian prisons. The Ombudsman accuses the minister of violating the law on government surveillance after publishing a video showing a meeting between a defense lawyer and a prisoner.
January the 21st :
Russian forces advance their position on Georgian territory near the village of Gougoutiantkari.
Four members of the United States Congress send a letter to the Prime Minister of Georgia describing their concerns about the state of democracy in Georgia."

Source -https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portail:Géorgie_(pays)/Tableau_principal/Annonces_actualités

Arseenal221 - in one of the earlier articles I posted it stated - "As it turned out, the Georgian government, which by all means tried not to hold any companies accountable (probably in order to occupy high positions in the international ratings of economic freedom), was nevertheless forced to file a lawsuit against one of its long-standing and largest investors - Frontera"

It is just an article but yes - a lot of noise for a minnow

For anyone wanting to see the video I suggest you use the link provided by Chris at 11:43 rather than the link I supplied. Both articles are the same but his link is more direct.

A similar article but with more pictures - https://1tv.ge/en/news/former-employees-of-frontera-demand-salary-arrears-payment/

Thanks Chris :)

This short article seem to have a short video of the demonstration (which mostly seems to involve knocking on a door)

"tuh tuk! Who's there? Protesters in Georgia. But now with claims not to parliament, but to the American oil company.

Frontera Resources, an oil producer, has not paid salaries to employees for almost a year. And on New Year's Eve, she presented them with another gift - dismissal. Former employees and union members demand that they return their work and salary debts. Even the deputies have repeatedly declared the company's dishonesty.

???? The answer of the American side is interesting. Congressman Brian Babin said the problems around Frontera are “part of a general trend towards a worsening democratic situation in Georgia.”

If your country lacks democracy, you will not receive salaries from American companies. So what?"

The article and video is the second article / video on the page. As this seems a live feed its possible the article will be further down the page when you open - https://ru.telegram.one/sputniklive

A Russian article that give a mention to FRR in relation to senator Olson. I won't cut & paste as the google translation is really bad. I don't think there is anything new here, but here is the link if you want to check it out -

http://www.kaspiy.az/news.php?id=119608#.XjvySi17HGI

The last part of the title should read "...he found cover in the US Congress"

Pt.2 and final part-

Oil and gas production not only provides jobs for the inhabitants of Dedoplistskaro, but also provides food for their families. There is no other job in this part of eastern Georgia: the villages surrounding the town survive only through the oil and gas industry. Now the majority of Georgian villages are gradually emptying due to lack of jobs and opportunities, but until recently, this part of the country was in relative safety due to the wealth of natural resources. In addition, this is one of the last places in Georgia where technical workers with higher education are required, rather than workers in the services and tourism sectors, as in other regions.
However, the problem is deeper than simply non-payment of salaries. As it turned out, the Georgian government, which by all means tried not to hold any companies accountable (probably in order to occupy high positions in the international ratings of economic freedom), was nevertheless forced to file a lawsuit against one of its long-standing and largest investors - Frontera - and start a lawsuit with her in an arbitration court.
This process, in which Georgia accuses Frontera of violating contractual obligations, began in 2017, but Frontera employees were informed about it only on December 25, 2019. At a large meeting in the city hall, where workers stated their complaints, they talked about protracted unemployment (which is especially true for older employees), that holidays are coming, and they have no money. Many complained that they had turned off utility services because they had nothing to pay, and the bank accrued interest on the amount of their debt, because they could not make payments on time on time.
After that, an employee of the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation made a statement. He lamentedly admitted: “In 2017, we filed a lawsuit against them in an arbitration court. This is the first time in the history of Georgia when the government filed a lawsuit against the company in an international arbitration court. ” The fact that the Oil and Gas Corporation did not inform Frontera employees about the lawsuit that began, he explained by the decision of the Corporation to follow the advice of lawyers to keep everything in strictest confidence. Of course, the employees did not expect that they would receive a non-payment of salaries and dismissal, because they had been working in the Upper Kura basin since 1997 - since Frontera began its activities in this region. And then, they said, this is, after all, an American company.
Indeed, America does not stand aside in this conflict. Frontera CEO previously announced that the company is registered in the United States

Source -https://www.opendemocracy.net/ru/kak-investor-v-gruzii-rassoril-mestnykh-rabochikh-i-amerikanskikh-kongressmenov/

Russian article, typical point of view though it does seem more specific in terms of dates and discusses the arbitration. This is Pt.1

"it is easy to attract foreign investors when 27 “newly born” countries appear on the world market at once. Along with other post-Soviet and Eastern European states, Georgia has taken the path of tough neoliberal reforms to attract investment. She started this process later than the others, but already managed to attract attention with her zeal.
The successive Georgian governments proudly showed their support to entrepreneurs, making every effort to minimize or hide any government interference in the market economy. The rest of the world was shocked by the 2008 crisis, which resulted in waves of protests against neoliberalism among supporters of state regulation of the economy and right-wing anti-liberals - however, this, apparently, was not affected in any way.
The country continues to implement reforms that far exceed the requirements of regional and international financial organizations. For example, Georgia introduced a fixed income tax and private pensions (the latter are often engaged in local business associations).
The American company Frontera Resources, which has been developing the oil and gas fields of Georgia since 1997, since the reign of Eduard Shevardnadze, also plays a role in this. In Georgia, Frontera remained in the shadows until 2015 - until it announced that it had discovered a huge gas field in the east of the country, in Dedoplistskaro, and that it would be produced using new methods, primarily hydraulic fracturing. After this statement, various communities began to pay attention to Frontera - investors, businessmen, politicians - after all, such a discovery could bring energy independence from Russia.
However, for workers in Dedoplistskaro hired by the company (about a hundred people), the reality was not so rosy. For the past two years they have not received their salaries on time; it is either delayed or not paid at all. Several workers told oDR that they were owed salaries for up to eleven months.
At first, the staff endured, thinking it was temporary. In November 2019, after unsuccessful attempts to get payments from the company, Frontera workers staged two protests in Tbilisi. A couple of weeks after the protests - which were not particularly covered in the media - Frontera fired these workers.
Instead of a salary, they got unemployment

MadP - thanks for that. FWIW I did preface the 'overalls' post with the comment "Do they really mean overalls???" to show my disbelief. Sometimes I do hesitate to post the extremely negative posts, especially the Russian ones, but I prefer we all get to see what is being said in the hope it helps reveal what is / might be / might not be going on behind the scenes.

This is Pt.2 -

“Despite Georgia's progress since independence in 1991, recent years have shown a persistent negative trend in indicators of a democratic and free market economy that has not gone unnoticed in the United States.

The result is a decline in foreign direct investment in Georgia, as American and European business interests in Georgia have become targets of harassment and expropriation attacks. An excellent example of this is the oil and gas company Frontera Resources Texas, ”the letter reads.
Malini has become known as the official lobbyist for Frontera. Petriashvili calls him an ugly thinking congressman.

"He does not ask questions about 11 months of debt or employees' rights violations, but to get $ 5,700 a month and hire a company that violates these fundamental rights is killing the payer. We will answer in America, "Petriashvili said.

Source -http://kvira.ge/537328

"ndependent Trade Union - Solidarity Network and Metro Trade Union Unity 2013 urge former authorities to pay salaries to former employees of the oil company Frontera, said Sopho Japaridze, chairman of Solidarity Network and Zaza Barbakadze, founder of Unity 2013 Media Holding "Sunday" Press Club difficult press conference.

“The only way out is for the government to intervene and pay these people a salary, as happened in Tkibuli, because the company is likely to have no resources. It seems that the government was not worried about this issue until the Dedoplistskaro workers started cooperating with us. We ask that this company go and come up with a company that will protect the rights of employees.

American company Frontera has been operating in Dedoplistskaro for more than 30 years. In 2015 it was announced that they had found a large supply of gas in Dedoplistskaro and were planning to invest heavily. The announcement appears to have been made because their shares on the London Stock Exchange had been artificially raised. The company has shown nothing for 30 years.
Frontra has strong ties to US politicians. The congressmen who mentioned the Frontera theme had all taken money. This is hiring of politicians, ”said Sopho Japaridze.
According to Zaza Barbakadze, former employees of the company are forced to not cooperate with independent trade unions.
"These people contacted the Solidarity Network and asked for help. The trade union has instructed its employees how to behave. As soon as the Dedoplistskaro district governor heard, the workers contacted representatives of the United Trade Union and held a meeting with Irakli Petriashvili. When the state intervenes in solving labor disputes and leads the trade union, it means that it is not up to these people to choose which trade union to come in and cooperate with, ”Zaza Barbakadze said.
Irakli Petriashvili responded to this accusation in the Sunday press club. He said former Frontera employees had applied to the union to help themselves.
"We have 84 former Frontera employees with us, plus 15 people have applied to us, we know they will release us. We have been involved in this process for about 2-3 weeks, when these people have addressed us, otherwise we have not had any problems with them. If they were involved from the beginning, ensure that they were brought, brought, and provided with legal services. Where is the logic? People apply to us and we provide services, ”Petriashvili said.
Former 84 employees of the oil company Frontera will hold a protest rally outside the Frontera headquarters in Tbilisi tomorrow to demand payroll. Irakli Petriashvili, the chairman of the trade union, said at a press conference at the media holding Sunday.
The state's dispute with Frontera has begun in international arbitration.
Recall, a Republican member of the US Congress, Markuin Malini addressed an open letter to the Georgian Prime Minister. In this letter he mentions Frontera.

Tsbs - I can't find the piece but I can recall one article (maybe from last Nov) claimed to have some comments from Zaza. The comments where along the lines of he was trying to resolve the problem / there was one remaining obstacle / he hoped it would be fixed by end Jan 2020.