Local workers engaged in the construction of the Georgian section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan export pipeline for Caspian oil have staged protest strikes at several locations over the past week to demand a pay increase and that their wages be paid on time, Georgian media reported. They are complaining that they are paid only 1 lari ($0.46) per day, whereas their counterparts in Azerbaijan and Turkey receive $2 per hour. Builders in Tetri Tsqaro put down their tools on 11 December, while some 100 of their colleagues went on strike in Rustavi on 14 December. Similar incidents were reported in Marneuli, Tsalka, and Gardabani. (Caucasus Press)