Presidential Administration Slams Amendments to Law on Public Service
By Tea Mariamidze
Thursday, December 13
Georgia’s Presidential Administration slams proposed amendments to the Law on Public Service, according to which, employees of the President's Administration will not be public servants anymore and the new President Salome Zourabichvili will have the right to dismiss them without any compensation or explanations.
Head of the Presidential Administration Giorgi Abashishvili says the amendments are “discriminatory and unconstitutional.”
He believes if the changes are made, they should apply to all public servants and not only to the ones working at the Presidential Administration.
“The changes should at least be applied equally to the employees of the Parliament of Georgia and the Administration of the Government of Georgia as well… These amendments are absolutely absurd. This is a decision made by coward persons. I want to advise them to totally abolish the institution instead of making these poor attempts,” Abashishvili stressed.
Ana Natsvlishvili, Parliamentary Secretary of the President calls on the Parliament not to adopt amendments to the Law on Public Service.
According to Natsvlishvili, if the changes are made, the people employed in the administration will not be public servants and, therefore, will no longer have any protection guarantees.
Former Deputy Justice Minister, Aleksandre Baramidze believes the amendments are “shameful.”
According to him, the adoption of a new law on public service was one of the main conditions, based on which Georgia has achieved a visa-free regime with the EU.
“The employees of the Presidential Administration will be left aside the new Public Service Law,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gia Volsky, member of the Georgian Dream (GD) majority and the Vice-Speaker of the Parliament, says the president-elect Salome Zourabicvili will make a proper decision about the administration employees herself.
“She is not influenced by her personal opinions when it concerns to state interests so I am sure she makes the correct decision,” he added.
In addition, the NGO Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) also described the regulations initiated in relation to the employees of the Presidential Administration as unconstitutional.
"We believe that the submitted legislative initiative contradicts the Constitution of Georgia, the practice of the Constitutional Court of Georgia and does not comply with the principles enshrined in the Law of Georgia on Public Service, thus grossly violates the labor rights of persons employed in the Presidential Administration”, reads the statement.
Currently, 140 people are working in the administration of the president but 2019 draft budget says the number will be reduced to 60.
