Results of Joint Social Protection System Assessment Presented in Georgia

The International Labour Organization in partnership with UN Women organized a sensitization online seminar on the findings of the Joint Social Protection Assessment on Thursday, 29 July 2020.

News | 29 July 2020
Photo: ILO/Nino Kharadze
TBILISI (ILO News) - The agenda included an informative and interactive session with discussions around the findings and recommendations of the joint assessment. The  national and international partners heard an overview of the current social protection system in Georgia vis-à-vis international social protection floors.

The assessment document provides analysis and recommendations that would support the ILO constituents and other national partners to build the resilience of the vulnerable people to shocks, such as the socio-economic crisis resulted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The analysis is based on various international declarations and conventions, the most prominent and comprehensive of which is the ILO Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention No. 102 of 1952 (C102). C102 sets minimum standards in social security to address nine lifecycle contingencies through the establishment of: old-age pensions, disability benefits, survivor benefits, cash sickness and maternity benefits, unemployment benefits, employment injury benefits, and family/child benefits. The analysis also examines the standards outlined in the ILO Maternity Protection Convention No. 183 of 2000.  The assessment takes a forward-looking approach, providing not only a diagnostic of the overall social protection system but also highlighting the current COVID-19 pandemic challenges and policy options for addressing them.

The seminar brought together representatives from the Government of Georgia - the Ministry of IDPs, Labour, Health, and Social Affairs, together with Public Defender (Ombudsmen) office in Georgia, Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), Georgian Employers Association (GEA), Youth Agency, EMC, UNFPA, UNDP, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Kakheti Regional Development Foundation, Rural Development for Future Georgia, and the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET) which they had the opportunity to have a comprehensive overview to the assessment from international specialists and exchange knowledge on social protection floors in light of ILO Conventions.

The opening of the workshop was chaired by Mr. Kinan Bahnassi, Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO project, Ms. Mehjabeen Alarakhia, Programme Specialist, UN Women, Ms. Jasmina Papa, ILO Social Protection Specialist, and Ms. Shea McClanahan, international consultant.

In her presentation, Shea McClanahan noted that "Georgia’s system already performs relatively well -- particularly the old age pension. However, key gaps in social protection provision remain, particularly for children and people of working age. The current crisis shows us the value of investing in inclusive, lifecycle social protection, which is shock responsive at its core, does need to lean so heavily on poverty targeted benefits to fill gaps, and better protects Georgia's workers and families as the true engines of a growing economy."

The joint assessment initiative is implemented in partnership and with the financial support from the Government of Denmark through the ILO Project “Inclusive Labour Market for Job Creation in Georgia”.   The initiative is also supported through the UN Women regional project “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” financed by the Governments of Switzerland and Austria.