How to make work safer

The Government has already approved the 2017 Work Safety National Program, which again fails to carry out effective work safety monitoring and responses to violations.

The Program states that work safety inspectors can monitor a situation in a company in case the employer accepts the evaluation.

If certain violations were found, the work inspection will only be able to adopt recommendations.

Such an approach to the issue means nothing will change over the next year in terms of ensuring work safety norms, especially when dozens of people die at the workplace annually in the country.

Most of the companies operating in Georgia think little about their employees.

Employers generally try to save as much money as possible at the expense of staff salaries, and very rarely take steps to ensure their safety through providing necessary systems or equipment.

The Government’s attitude that work inspectors are incapable of checking the situation in a company without a previous warning or consent from an employer and that they cannot put sanctions on a company if it fails to provide mandatory safety norms.

This naturally begs the question as to how Georgia will transform itself into a modern, European country if there are no safety norms in place in many companies in Georgia and the rights of employees are violated on a daily basis.

This is the issue that must be addressed, as a lack of effective work inspection leads to deaths in the country, an outflow of the labour force and a weak economy.