Improved Compliance with Labour Laws in Georgia

The project supported the Government of Georgia to enforce labour laws and International Labour Standards (ILS), supported workers’ organizations to improve their capacities to represent workers’ rights and fostered national tripartite social dialogue.

Short Overview 

The goal of the project was to achieve improved compliance with labour laws in Georgia. To do so, the project strengthened the capacity of the Government of Georgia to enforce labour laws through developing strategic plans, raising awareness, building the capacity of labour inspectors, training judges or enhancing mediation, among other activities. In addition, the project strengthened the effectiveness of workers’ organizations to represent workers’ rights and interests by collaborating with the Georgia Trade Union Confederation (GTUC) to develop strategic plans and enhance capacity to better integrate workers’ representatives and interests.

Highlight 

The most successful component of the project regarded capacity building on International Labour Standards (ILS) in collaboration with the High School of Justice and the Georgian Bar Association. Indeed, the cooperation with the judiciary that commenced in 2014 resulted in a significant transfer of knowledge and raised awareness regarding ILS and labour rights and their application in the national context. The increased awareness led to better enforcement by the judiciary of labour rights and labour code amendments in practice. A group of judges, who followed a training of trainers, took the lead with project support, in the development of a manual on ILS and national legislation, which has now been institutionalized within the High School of Justice (HSOJ). In addition, a series of trainings in cooperation with the Georgian Bar Association (GBA), on ILS and labour rights in the national context for legal practioners resulted in an increased knowledge base of lawyers involved in the legal proceedings of labour disputes.

To be continued

In early 2019, the Parliament of Georgia indicated its wish to initiate a process of labour law reform in Georgia with the active involvement of all the stakeholders, including trade unions, employers and NGOs. The main idea of the reform was to improve the labour regulatory framework and satisfy all international requirements arising out of the ILO fundamental Conventions and the EU Association Agreement. The Project provided extensive assistance in the drafting of the legislative reform package, as well as enabling consultations with constituents and other stakeholders. The formal initiation of the package was planned to be made during the second half of March 2020. However, due to the introduction of measures to counter the spread of COVID-19 prevented this and the initiation was postponed.
Funding is provided by the United States Department of Labor under cooperative agreement number IL-25258-14-75-K. This material does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government. One hundred percent of the total costs of the project or program is financed with Federal funds, for a total of 3.000,000 dollars.