Translators are not paid in one of the most famous translation centers “Tbilisi Business House”

Tbilisi Business House is located in the middle of Rustaveli Avenue, but at the same time it’s very hard to find. There is blind alley in strange place and if you follow see the door, which doesn’t have any kind of inscription on it.

Tbilisi Business House is well-known translation center in Tbilisi. This center has many translators and they translate from different languages. Salary differs according to languages, and for each of them the amount of money is funny, but even for this funny amount, translators have to beg for several months. Usually managers say that for translating one page, English is 4 GEL, Lithuanian 16 GEL, Spanish 16 GEL and so on. But even for receiving four GEL, it can take a long period. Translators are hired, work a lot, some of them do writing form of translation from home and others are sent in different places to attend meetings or even interrogation. For one look, this center is very famous, but on the other side they have very unsatisfied translators, who aren’t paid at all, are paid with half salary, or get money once in two or three months.

Translators are people who are always needed by society, it is one of the required job. People who put their whole energy, get nothing back. It can be problem for anyone who isn’t looked into the problem and will start working there in future. There are different versions in center, why translators and even some members of stuff aren’t paid, and most spread version is that managers offered big salaries to employees firstly, but then they couldn’t pay, because they had debts.

The owner of that company is George Gagnidze, with whom the contact is impossible, because he doesn’t answer people on Facebook and also mobile number is such hidden, that none of the translators can understand it. But managers are more or less available. According to Natia Tsatsiashvili, the company has bad situation, because it offered twice big salaries to employees and then couldn’t give even half.

“We don’t lie to translators, everyone will get their own salary, just it can take months or even more and it isn’t depended on us, because when company was opened, management was planned in a wrong way. We have problem in accounts department, so this situation affects us as well”-Tsatsiashvili mentioned.

When I asked her how can they win tenders and have employees despite the situation, she answered that they are better in worse ones and anyway people trust them. According to Natia, they are paying to everyone and there is no unfair, but translators have to wait. Also she mentioned that they receive money from different organizations, with whom they operate, very late, but according me, as a translator and also others, they pay very quickly, after several days from getting service.

Usually the situation is same in all cases. After first month, translators start calling, sometimes managers answer and say that it needs much time to get salary, but sometimes number isn’t accessible at all, it’s turned off or is on another call. When people go directly to the place, accountant is sending translators to others, and those others to more others and it continues endlessly. After one woman counts pages what was done by translator and promises that it will be sent to accountant who will send salary.

People who want to gain experience and knowledge, especially students are such kind of people, don’t care about salary. Mostly exactly the students are the victims of that center, because sometimes they pay for studies and any kind of money amount is acceptable for them. For that translation center, they apply for a job and after go to the office for an interview, or sometimes directly go to destination where they need to be translators. During interview there is no test, just talking, on very basic level. Some of them do online written translations in the beginning. Managers are sending files and translators have several hours or days to finish, it depends on the amount of work. Sometimes employees get translations, which include legal documents and it’s very hard and needs responsibility to translate without mistakes. Some people sit for hours and aren’t sleeping to do it well and hope to get salary, but they don’t. According to contract, they should get salary before the 10^th of the month, but it isn’t paid even after 10. When translators ask managers for it, they blame government structures. But people, who work in internal affairs say, that they transfer money in the beginning of the month (1^st or 2^nd day).

According to translators, manager of the whole stuff, talk to translators in very rude way.

“Natia said I was a hobo and the worst person for demanding my money”- Irine Kvelidze said.

Irine Kvelidze is a person, who experienced working in that center some years ago, but she still continues fighting against this unfair and tries to open people’s eyes until they enter there. She started working in January 2016.

“Once they called me at 2:30 AM to go to the other side of the city for translation in the police department, I was hesitating, but still went there. There was a really hostile environment, very unfair. They filled my papers for only 1 hour, which meant that I spent 12 Lari to go there and then come back home for only 5 Lari of work.”- Irine Kvelidze said.

All her lawyer friends asked her to send an official email to the company threatening to go to the court. With the help of her friends, she wrote a very detailed email, highlighting what evidence she had - Facebook chat, contract and etc. They transferred her salary the next day.

Translators are paid a third of the amount partners are paying the company. Translators are paid 4 lari for a page, when internal affairs pay 12 lari for it. Me, as a translator for that center, was told in all places, where I had been as a translator, to quit a job. Also I searched this page on Facebook and there were very bad comments. After several months they changed name and said that it was different center and they are the other one.

This center has two offices and many employees. There are few, but satisfied translators, who say that this center gives people possibility to develop and improve skills. According to them, the company has attentive collective, who work together. Also distance working is plus for them and some of the translators think that they are one family.

“I am working there already for two years and what I like most is that I can work from home. I like the attitude from stuff side and have feeling that we are one big family. Only thing is that salary is late sometimes, but I have another job and it doesn’t make such discomfort for me”,-Mariam Silagadze mentioned.

Usually, when translators complain that salary isn’t paid, managers try to assure them that their salary should be on their account in maximum 2 days and they will never do it again. After they continue working and hope that their salary will be given. They translate many important files and a couple of legislation parts, but get nothing back. Translators talk to managers multiple times, but they say same things over and over. Every day managers say that salary should be on account the next day. There are cases, when after many calls, sometimes managers pay employees with half salary.

There are some people who post about them negative things on page, and they are mad for that people. Sometimes translators write posts and call managers every day for their deserved salary, but it doesn’t have effect.

In internet there is site “Jobrate.ge”, where people express their idea about this translation center. It is rated in very bad way. As most translators mentioned there is no thing, people can be satisfied by. According to them the salary is very law, when this work includes translating juridical documents. Also schedule isn’t given, mangers can call anytime, day or night. Usually writing and calling to managers stays without answer. There is big distrust for that company at working market. The strangest thing according to translators is the fact that this translation company is located in the center of city, but nobody cares about its irresponsibility. The director of the office doesn’t think about management, employees. The stuff is fully irresponsible. Managers don’t check the quality of knowledge and give duties from the first minute.

Sophio Tabatadze, was working in that center for three months as the translator from Lithuanian and English language. She had working experience in different companies and Tbilisi Business House contracted her. She already had been working here for about 2 and half months, when she received 63 GEL as the salary for her 1^st month. This price shows that she translated around 16 pages of legal documents. Her 2^nd and 3^rd month translation was much more and she was so looking forward to receiving the salary, but she hadn’t received it at all.

“The most painful thing for me was my second visit to the company (it’s very hard for me to call it a company, for me it’s more a mice burrow). When I saw that they were just using me, weren‘t paying, weren‘t answering any questions. From the beginning nobody wanted to receive me, but finally, probably because they were disturbed seeing me standing in front of them, lead me to a room of a probable manager, who was not more than 25-27. When I told her I came to take my money and I wasn‘t planning to leave, she asked me: „are you in a hurry? I‘m going to smoke a cigar and come back soon“, I was shocked”,-Tabatadze said.

Managers usually say that the company is in debt and they can only pay those people who are currently working and those who stopped working, they can’t pay them. Because of that fact, they offer translators to continue working to get salary. Sometimes they just ignore people and continue working.

But main point is that even some managers aren’t paid in Tbilisi Business House, they work there for months and hope that will get what they deserve, but it doesn’t happen. Mariam Sikharulidze was manager at Tbilisi Business House. She was working there for one month and half. She began working without contract, the director was avoiding answering the question why being without contract was normal.

“I was a manager and all the translators were angry of me, because they weren’t paid, but even I was the victim of slavery”-Sikharulidze said.

She didn’t apply for court, because she had bad financial situation and couldn’t put her whole efforts and means in that. Salary for one month maybe would cost less than applying for court. She mentioned that director of that company, George Gagnidze expelled her from job and said that it was because of late. According to her, Gagnidze told her that contract wasn’t formatted, so lawyer wouldn’t help her.

Spanish language translator Nana Charkviani worked in this center for several months. She tried everything she could do, but there was no result. As she mentioned, Tbilisi Business Center may have Universal Business Services and the owner of that center is George Gagnidze.

“I was working as Spanish Language translator, for several months I hoped to get salary, but after I found out that they weren’t going to pay me. They had to pay me for three months, but didn’t give even one lari”-Charkviani mentioned.

According to Nana Charkviani, they don’t care about law as well, because she asked them about her lawyer, but they didn’t pay attention to it.

They aren’t afraid of media, because many translators use this way, but don’t get result. News was made about this non-payment in Rustavi 2 too, but the fact is that until that time nothing has changed.

Many things are told about this translation center in Social Media, but despite the fact that they work badly, most people use their service. There is Facebook page as well “Tbilisi Business House”, which includes members who work there at the current time, but also there are many comments of people, who are disappointed.

Some translators sued the company in the court, but the fact is, that company still continues to exist and use its employees. According to translators, only people can‘t deal with this company if the relevant bodies of the country won‘t interfere in this matter.