Unreported Case of Worker’s Death at Panorama Tbilisi Revealed
The union of investigative journalists of Georgia, ifact.ge, reports that a 27-year-old man died on January 21, while working on construction of a golf club that is part of the Panorama Tbilisi project. However, the death went unreported until this weekend.
Panorama Tbilisi was initiated by former Prime Minister of Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and is financed by the state-led Co-Investment Fund that he created. Construction of the huge project continues despite regular protests by environmentalists and other civic groups.
Investigative journalists found out that Levan Lapachi was pouring concrete on the ground floor of a three-story golf club when the concrete ceiling above him collapsed.
“According to eyewitnesses, the cement in the ceiling had not yet hardened. The cement in the support posts for the ceiling had also not hardened and didn’t support the weight of the ceiling,” ifact.ge reports.
The deceased worker left behind a widow and two children, 5 and 1. Georgia’s national Rustavi 2 TV tried to interview the family of the deceased worker; however, they refused to make any comments.
Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reports that they launched the investigation immediately after the accident occurred.
According to the MIA, other employees working on the site, supervisors of the workers and representatives of the construction company were questioned. The MIA states that relevant expertise was also carried out on site.
The Georgian Trade Union claims that since 2007, more than 480 people have died in the workplace and around 800 have been seriously injured, with 40 workers dying in the workplace in 2017 alone.
On February 23, the representatives of the Trade Union and workers from different parts of Georgia held a large-scale protest rally in Tbilisi.
The demonstrators gathered in Rose Revolution Square and marched to the old parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue.
The main demand of the protesters was the timely adoption of the Labor Safety Law, which has been under discussion in Parliament since June 1, 2017.
The protesters say the draft law applies only to “work under excessive risk of harsh and harmful conditions,” adding it has to cover all kinds of jobs and employees to exclude any kind of discrimination.
They also stressed that the bill refers only to labor safety, leaving labor legislation and enforcement of labor rights without regulation.
The Trade Union says they took part in the discussions on the draft law but none of their demands were included in the draft.
Giga Bekauri, who leads the youth wing of the Trade Union, said that the existing labor safety bill is incomplete and empty of guarantees.
“We demand that the inspection of labor be realistic, and the draft law does not enable this,” he added, underlining that Labor Inspectors have limited rights when it comes to supervision of work places.
Bekauri explained that according to the 81st Convention, labor management must be a trilateral and carried out by the Trade Union, Employer Association and State.
Georgian Trade Union and workers are not the only ones to criticize the existing labor law. Georgian Non-Governmental Organizations, as well as student Movement ‘Auditorium 115’ have also come out against the draft law on Labor Safety, claiming it is incomplete and does not meet European standards.
Thea Morrison