labour inspection

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construction

Editorial | Georgia’s government needs to act to protect workers

by OC Media

•2 min read

The latest death of a construction worker in Georgia demonstrates that the government must stand up for the rights and lives of its citizens. With labour reforms on what seems like indefinite hold, the government now needs to act. Twenty-six-year-old Jarji Janjalashvili died on 9 February after falling from the fifth floor of the construction site in Tbilisi he was working on. This tragic accident is far from unique in Georgia, which deregulated the labour market in the mid-2000s. Whil

Chiatura Manganese Mines

Opinion | Georgia’s labour reforms do little to fix the country’s deadly workplaces

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•4 min read

From 2007 to January 2017, 437 people died and 716 were injured at work in Georgia. A lack of safe workplaces is one of the greatest challenges facing workers in Georgia, and one the authorities are failing to rise to. The mining sector is perhaps the most affected sector in this regard. According to the trade unions, 24 miners have died in Tkibuli’s coal mines over the last seven years, while nine manganese miners have been killed in Chiatura over the last five. [Read on OC Media: Mine c

employees

Working 24 hours straight in Georgia’s supermarkets

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•9 min read

With 24-hour shifts, collective responsibility, and heavy surveillance, employees of Georgian supermarkets complain of being exploited. While supermarket owners justify the hard working conditions with a need to improve customer service, trade unions say the problem lies in a lack of regulations. Cashier, storekeeper, and cleaner Twenty-five-year-old Gvantsa (not her real name) started working at supermarket chain Nikora several months ago. She earns ₾450 ($165) a month working two 24-ho

Abkhazia

Has Abkhazia’s new Labour Code made a difference for workers?

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•4 min read

A new Labour Code came into force in Abkhazia in January 2017, which on paper, significantly expands the rights of workers. But the law has limitations, and not all workers know their rights. Svetlana (not her real name) works in two different state agencies. ‘I have a contract with one of them, but for some reason not with the other. I’ve approached the human resources department several times and asked to be registered, but each time I’m told “we don’t have time now, we’ll do it some o

Feature Stories

Fatal workplace accidents show ‘need for labour inspection reform’

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•4 min read

The high number of fatal occupational accidents in Georgia shows how dysfunctional labour inspection in the country is, as it fails to address alleged violations of safety rules on the labour market, non government organisations claim. While private companies rely on the ‘invisible hand’ and hope that the ‘market will regulate itself’, rights’ groups claim that workplace inspections need reform, which could help in preventing fatal accidents and improving workers’ conditions. High number o