President of the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation clarifies planned changes to the Labor Code

Not all people of all professions will be affected by the part of the amendment to the Labor Code, according to which citizens will be restricted from working at more than one job if the work hours prescribed by the Code are exhausted at the first job, according to Irakli Petriashvili, President of the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation.

Speaking at TV Pirveli’s Business Morning, Petriashvili noted that most of the package of amendments prepared by MP Dimitri Tskitishvili comes from the Unions.

Petriashvili noted that there are certain professions, such as drivers of public transport and doctors, where a good rest for the professionals is necessary for the well-being of the general public.

“On the initiatives that we’re talking about, I would like to fully accept and share the responsibility with Dimitri Tskitishvili, given that 90% of it comes from the Unions. The safety of citizens must be protected during transportation, that the driver may not drive a vehicle for 24 hours straight or that the doctor may not operate under such conditions. If this applies to journalists, scientists or those engaged in educational activities, a certain classification may be given to this, but there are high-risk occupations where the professionals must have a rest,” notes Petriashvili.

The President of the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation went further and noted that certain businesses managed to avoid complying to the 40-hour workweek

“Part of the businessmen want to discredit this axion, that should already have been in the legislation. They agreed to the norm in Georgian law that there should be a 40-hour workweek, but with a thousand manipulations and their own Prime Ministers, they managed to ignore it. It is important that, on the one hand, we have civilized law and, on the other, that it be implemented. Today, for us, both of those pose a challenge,” says Petriashvili.

As for the reply to the question of whether the effect of the suggested bill's regulation will be evaluated, Petriashvili suggests research is going to start in this direction.

“All the benefits will be measurable, as well as the blow that it might bring to the business. One of the initiatives is regarding the minimum wage. Today, the state allows the business to avoid taxes. The minimum income is GEL 20. Tell me a person who’s hired for GEL 20, but I will show you a lot, who have GEL 20 contracts, accordingly, income taxes are hidden in the budget. So the state shouldn’t tell me that it has no money,” suggests Petriashvili.

MP Dimitri Tskitishvili, in cooperation with the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation and several international organizations, prepared the package of legislative amendments to the Labor Code and the new draft labor inspection law to be initiated and adopted during the autumn session.

Several media platforms have reported that working at two or more jobs would be prohibited, leading to misunderstanding among the public, leading them to believe that the initiated package of changes directed at developing fairer and more decent working and social conditions would be contrary to their interests.

As explained by Petriashivli and MP Tskitishvili, the bill does not explicitly prohibit employees to have labor relations with more than one employer, but it establishes a maximum amount of working time which shall not exceed 48 hours per week including overtime work, following EU Directive 2003/88/EC.