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Acting Labor Code and Breached Labor Rights in Georgia

December 6, 2012

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi

“Acting Labor Code in Georgia does not protect rights of employees. It is focused on the rights of employers rather than of employees,” parliamentary majority started working on the amendments to the Labor Code after lawyers prepared relevant clarifications and workers of different enterprises in Georgia started protest demonstrations.

Members of the healthcare committee of the parliament think the Labor Code shall be fully amended. However, at the first stage they will work on the article, which regulates rights of employees and employers.

Recent frequent court hearings on this issue justify the position of the parliamentary majority. Representatives of the Kutaisi office of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association state increased court arguments are directly connected with the gaps in the Labor Code.

“It is fact that cases of breached labor rights have significantly increased lately and the acting Labor Code encourages this trend. Rights of employees are minimally protected here; employer can sack employees from job without any explanations, preliminary warning. It hinders lawyers to provide people with proper legal aid. Naturally, unless the law allows us to protect citizens’ rights, we will not be able to succeed regardless our effort,” said lawyer Giorgi Chikaberidze, representative of the Kutaisi office of GYLA.

Workers of the Kutaisi Metallurgic Factory, Tkibuli Mine, ChiaturManganum and Zestaponi Ferroalloy Factory held assemblies in front of the Parliament to protest their restricted rights. Protesters told humanrights.ge that they got tired of injustice and it is time for the company administrations and government of Georgia to treat them as plenipotentiary citizens.

“We are not slaves!” workers of the Kutaisi Metallurgic Factory were holding this and other banners during the assemblies which lasted two weeks in front of the parliament. “Slaves might be more respected than we are. What can we expect from them when even minimal working conditions are not created. We cannot wash up after working days; we do not have drinking water either; we have been receiving our salaries after long arguments and with delays for many years already. When we complain about it, they tell us to leave jobs if we do not like it.”

As we found out most part of civil arguments discussed at the Kutaisi City Court were about labor conditions including unfair labor contracts. People complain about oral forms of labor contracts which are actively used in Georgia in accordance to the Labor Code of Georgia and which creates plenty of problems in the country, as lawyers state.

“It is not enough when an employer employs and gives job to you. Oral agreements create problems. It is difficult to claim your rights and responsibilities in similar situation. Disagreements about holiday reimbursement, professional trauma, etc are frequent cases. Many citizens have appealed to us with these complaints. There is no legal norm which could allow us to properly assist citizen. As a result, courts are discussing plenty of labor disagreements nowadays,” Giorgi Chikaberidze said.

Lawyers clarify that many recommendations and draft-amendments, which aimed to introduce changes to the Labor Code of Georgia, were prepared for the last few years. However, legislative body usually postponed discussion of those recommendations for uncertain reasons.

“It is time to bother about people, who work and want their rights protected. These people, who have been gathering in front of the parliament lately and complained about their rights, deserve respect and attention. We started working and soon we will work on other articles of the Labor Code. Everything shall be changed in the Code but at this stage we will work only on the article which regulates rights of the employers with regard to employee,” said MP Guguli Magradze from majority.

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