On 16 July, 16-year-old Giorgi Beshkenadze plunged to his death at a construction site in Tbilisi. He is one of more than 400 workers in Georgia who have died in work-related accidents since 2011. We try to understand why.
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
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
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
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