NGOs Address Georgian Parliament to Speed Up Intro of Labor Safety Law

Two major Georgia-based Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) and the Georgian Young Lawyer’s Association (GYLA), have addressed the legislative body of Georgia to timely adopt the Labor Safety Law already initiated in Parliament.

The draft Law on Labor Safety was submitted to Parliament on June 1, 2017. It was approved by MPs during the first hearing; however, on February 5, 2018, when the Parliamentary Health Committee should have had a second hearing, the government did not present the draft and asked for an additional week for internal discussions.

The NGOs believe the government is delaying the process, noting that the same happened in December 2017.

“This process shows that there is no clear political will from the State to actually solve the health and safety issues of employed people and to activate effective legislation which will determine the government's proper mandate and mechanisms for labor supervision,” the statement of EMC and GYLA reads.

The NGOs also consider a significant problem of the draft its “limited scope.”

The organizations explain that, according to the proposed version of the draft law, it applies only to grave, harmful and hazardous jobs (a list of which the government should approve within three months of enacting the law) and only in terms of health and safety.

“This regulation does not apply to employers who are not on the list approved by the government, which makes an unjustified difference between employees, and puts them in unequal conditions,” the statement reads, adding the new law should cover all kinds of jobs and employees.

EMC and GYLA stated the Ministry of Economy believes the law should cover only the private and not the state sector.

“This is another unjustified opinion and aims to exclude public institutions from the scope of the law,” the NGOs say, repeating the law should cover both sectors – state and private.

The statement also stresses the draft does not envisage the effective work of the Inspection Service, which checks labor conditions at various sites or institutions. According to the draft, the service has to obtain a court permit to check alleged violations.

“This draft reduces the chances of immediate and effective response from the Inspection Service,” the NGOs claim.

The non-governmental sector also made remarks regarding the amount of fines for violations of safety norms. They say the fines are low and are not in line with the draft aim – to reduce violation of labor rights and increase safety standards.

“The Parliament of Georgia should adopt a law on labor safety, in the shortest possible term, that will adequately respond to the existing challenges of labor safety in the country,” the NGOs said.

In parallel with the non-governmental sector, Georgia’s Business ombudsman, Irakli Lekvinadze, also issued his recommendations regarding the draft, in which he speaks about the necessity of reasonable terms for enacting the law, which will give businessmen adequate time to become accustomed to the new regulations.

“Equal responsibility between the employer and the employee and necessary qualifications of the labor safety inspectors also need to be included in the draft,” the Business Ombudsman stated.

Last week, Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze stated that Parliament plans to set up a wide format for discussing the issues related to labor safety and labor rights and elaborate appropriate mechanisms. He added that such an obligation was being undertaken by the government under the Association Agreement, signed with the European Union.

Thea Morrison