Ei-iE

Fifty trade union organisations and NGOs’ representatives from all over Europe, will come together on 6 June in Brussels, Belgium, deploring that Georgia is rapidly becoming the Europe’s black sheep concerning workers’ rights.

With workers forced to work in unhealthy and dangerous environments, trade union activists dismissed, and trade union leaders harassed and threatened, independent trade union organisations’ whole existence is put at risk in this country.

Despite numerous promises made to the International Labour Organisation and contrary to the international commitments taken by the country, the Georgian government has not taken any steps or measures to ensure trade union and labour rights.

While Georgia is successful in terms of economic growth, it keeps silent on human rights violations’ growing number and the total disregard and ignorance of health and safety issues, increasingly costly in terms of workers’ lives.

Georgia is also one of the very few countries worldwide without labour inspection, and employers are using medieval labour code’s provisions to target workers seeking to establish a union.

EI will continue to support Georgian trade unionists and will not hesitate to use all existing international and European instruments to confront the Georgian government’s anti-unionism policy.