Georgian Trade Union: 41 Dead, 63 Injured in Workplaces in 2017
The Georgian Trade Union has spoken out about the “alarming” statistics of accidents that occurred in workplaces last year, claiming 41 people died and 63 people received serious injuries due to the absence of proper safety norms.
The information was released by the Head of the Labor Technical Inspection of Trade Union, Nika Kakashvili, who said the majority of accidents happened at construction sites because the companies are not observing safety norms.
Kakashvili is calling on the government to regulate the field and to ensure safe working conditions at construction sites and other workplaces.
“The statistics provided by us are not full and we call on the Interior Ministry to release the full statistics, as the real picture is very alarming,” he said, adding that after the construction sector, the majority of incidents occurred in the mining field, followed by electricity and other sectors.
“The most incidents happen in Tbilisi as there are so many ongoing constructions there; however, the reason is not the quantity of constructions but the non-observance of safety norms,” he said.
Kakashvili did note that there are high-standard construction companies who do ensure the safety of their workers, “but the majority of companies operating in Georgia opt to save money by avoiding the safety norms.”
The absence of safety norms in Georgian workplaces was also mentioned among the key findings of 2017 in the recent report of Human Rights Watch (HRW), an American-founded international NGO that conducts research and advocacy on human rights.
The HRW stressed that every year in Georgia dozens of workers die and hundreds suffer injuries as a result of occupational accidents, adding that the country is failing to introduce effective health and safety measures in the workplace.
“According to the Ombudsman, 270 people died in the past five years due to unsafe working conditions, 18 of them in the first half of 2017. The Ombudsman and NGOs criticized the Labor Inspection Department under the Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Affairs, for having no executive authority to enforce standards, thus failing to introduce effective health and safety measures in the workplace. Investigations into workplace incidents rarely lead to accountability,” - the report reads.
The most recent incident happened on January 18 this year when a worker fell off a construction site in Temka, Gldani-Nadzaladevi district, and died in a hospital soon after.
The worker, 27, was working in a high spot without a helmet or harness. As reported by media, the site also lacked a safety net around the building.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs subsequently launched an investigation into the case under Article 240 which envisages a breach of safety norms.
Akaki Zoidze, Chair of Parliament’s Healthcare Committee, believes Georgia should share the European experience regarding labor rights in order to avoid frequent incidents in the workplace.
“We should adopt the highest standards of labor rights…But it should be done gradually and in parallel with proper supervision,” Zoidze added.
Thea Morrison