Staff of Astana-Zelenstroy LLP, which handles the greening and landscaping of the capital, have gone on strike due to low wages.
According to the Telegram channel "The Path to Truth", the strikers gathered at the company's head office. The cause of the discontent was low wages and unfulfilled promises by management to raise them.
"We came here because wages aren't paid on time or we get less than our salary. They've been promising an increase for three years. We have many other problems. The director swears. There's a local police officer here now who told us not to block the road or start fights. But we don't want conflict – we just demand a pay rise," one of the workers said.
In June of last year, it was reported that the Anti-Corruption Agency was conducting a pre-trial investigation into the former general director of Astana-Zelenstroy LLP. He is suspected of inciting the giving of a bribe of 15 million tenge to law enforcement officials to halt a criminal case.
In September 2023, it was reported that the capital's Anti-Corruption Agency would inspect the activities of the State Institution "Department for Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Management", as well as the subordinate organisation Astana-Zelenstroy LLP, for corruption risks.
Additionally, it emerged that the general director of Astana-Zelenstroy LLP received a bribe of 9 million tenge from the deputy director of Tabigat-Service NS LLP for the unhindered signing of certificates of completion for the maintenance of green spaces. Later, for accepting a bribe, the general director was sentenced to a fine of 185 million tenge, and the bribe-giver was sentenced to a fine of 135 million tenge.
Furthermore, in 2022, Astana-Zelenstroy LLP leased specialised equipment for 400 million tenge and intended to repair a Lamborghini engine for 3 million tenge via the public procurement website. And in 2020, during the pandemic, the LLP was included in a list of companies that, under a public procurement contract, were to handle the landscaping and greening of the capital's Almaty district for 2.7 billion tenge.