A two-day seminar was opened in the hotel Biltmore as part of Georgian-EU dialogue on Labour, Employment and Social Issues, which aims at supporting joint efforts to facilitate better jobs and labour standards through economic cooperation under Georgia-EU Association Agreement and DCFTA.
The seminar will provide a space for exchange of ideas and practices among relevant government officials, labour inspectors and social partners from EU member states, Georgia and other countries, as well as the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the International Labour Organization.
The main focus of the discussion will be the role of labour inspection as the primary agency for ensuring implementation of labour legislation, overcoming informal labour problems and safety supervision at workplaces.
The seminar is attended by the representatives of the European Union, International Labour Organization, Hungarian Trade Union, International Confederation of Trade Unions, Norwegian and Spanish Labour Inspections, Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of Finland, European Business Association, European Agency for Labour Safety, Ministry of IDPs, Labour, Health and Social Affairs, Tbilisi City Hall, Georgian Employers Association and Georgian Trade Unions Confederation.
During the discussion, Mr. Irakli Petriashvili, the chairperson of the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation focused on all the circumstances, which hinder the development of social dialogue in the country. The chairperson noted that when facing harassment and obvious discrimination of employees in the state companies – Georgian Railway and Georgian Post, when the opinion and position of Georgian Trade Union is completely ignored in the process of pension reforms, the chances of developing a culture of social dialogue are very low.