Death at the workplace

Georgia’s Public Defender, Ucha Nanuashvili, has reported that on December 3, a driver died in the country's western Chiatura mine.

Apart from offering condolences to the deceased man’s family, Nanuashvili stressed that it was necessary for the Government to adopt and implement proper safety regulations and to ensure strict monitoring of their implementation, which can minimize the number of casualties in the workplace.

The Public Defender also called on law enforcement agencies to conduct a prompt and effective investigation into the death of a person that might be caused by the violation of safety rules in the workplace.

Nanuashvili called on the Government to immediately take active measures to ensure labour safety and start the process of ratification of Convention No 81 (labour inspection), Convention No 129 (agriculture labour inspection) and Convention No 155 (labour safety and hygiene) of the International Labour Organization, as well as Article 3 of the European Social Charter (right to safe and hygienic working conditions) in order to ensure a safe and healthy environment for employees.

“The Chiatura mine accident once again underscores the severity of the problem relating to safety in the workplace,” Nanuashvili said.

Unfortunately, when such facts take place in Georgia, it is very often forgotten, without genuine address to the issue.

The current Government of Georgia recently made “positive” changes to the country's labour code, however the existent problems have not been eliminated.

Employees still feel that there are no guarantees or genuine support from the Government, when employers, in most cases, do what they want.

Of course, the Government should think about businesses, but not always at the expense of employees.

There are many structures in Georgia which are artificially found and do nothing important, and spend state money for their own comfort, when the country requires a labour inspection service that would do its job properly.