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Government Does Not Feel Responsible for Unemployment

December 21, 2005

Government Does Not Feel Responsible for Unemployment 

After the press conference held in the Human Rights Centre, 15 employees of the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Security were dismissed from their posts.  These employees were criticizing the upcoming amendment of Georgian law project. According to the new law project, the Department on Labor and Employment, holding various services like the State Service on Social Security and Employment, the Employment Service and the Labor Inspection, will be closed down. In addition, support for the unemployed will come to an end.

The employees of this department have sent a letter to the President, the Head of Parliament and prime Minister in which they are criticizing the newly created Labour Code and amendments in the law. In this letter they stated that the main reason for poverty in the country is unemployment. This necessitates the creation a policy for fostering employment within the country. Straight after the press conference all of them were given disciplinary layoff. They were punished for criticizing the Ministry.

“The case is more than clear; the law was ignored and employees punished for their opinion. This is an absolute violation of the rights of civil servants. They were not notified in advance and they have the full rights to sue the Ministry”- said Giga Giorgadze, lawyer at the Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre.

The employees of the Labor and Employment Department were appointed to their posts after a competition, which according to the law, ensures at least a two-year term of employment. Nevertheless, they were constantly warned about upcoming staff reduction.

“We are under psychological stress. For two years we constantly were reminded about upcoming dismissals. We left our posts, took part in competitions and came back again. Now, even after the competition, we are facing the same problem again.” - said employee of the Department on Labor and Employment Temur Chavleishvili.

The upcoming amendments are criticized by Giga Giorgadze: “How can the government take such a decision when there is huge unemployment in the country? They are weakening the role of the Service on Labor and Employment. It makes us think that the state refuses to take responsibility for the reigning unemployment. It also ignores the constitution and demands from International Labor Organization”.

The author of the legal amendments is Deputy Minister Vakhtang Megrelishvili. He said that these changes are planned because of the Department's ineffectiveness. "It was a bureaucratic service which artificially enlarged the number of civil servants.”

The Head of the Service on Employment Policy Tsiuri Antidze declared: “The state wants to terminate the functioning of the structure that elaborates policy in the sphere of employment. That this service is ineffective is not the fault of the specialists but of the Ministry itself”.

These critical comments were the reason of the civil servant's dismissals.

The Human Rights Centre finds that the decision taken by the Ministry violates the freedom of speech. A dismissal without warning is in violation of the law on Public Service. 

The Center is baffled by this incident and demands a reaction from the responsible officials. 

Ani Chkhaidze

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