The Public Defender of Georgia echoes the strike planned by the employees of Evolution Georgia LLC for July 12, which, according to reports, will be joined by about 4,600 employees of the enterprise.[1] The employees have complaints related to the degrading attitude of the company and indecent working conditions.

Considering the limited mandate to protect labour rights in the private sector, the Public Defender echoes this issue with a statement and emphasizes that it is important for the employer to strictly protect the employees’ rights.

A healthy and safe working environment and decent remuneration for work are an integral part of the right to work, and a dignified life of a person significantly depends on it. It should be noted that the European Social Charter, to which Georgia is a contracting party, recognizes the right of all workers to have safe, fair working conditions and adequate, fair remuneration for work, which ensures a decent standard of living for them and their families. As the practice of the Public Defender shows, unfortunately, the demand for improvement of working conditions by the employees or the expression of work-related criticism is generally considered an unacceptable position by the employers and often becomes the basis for harassment, dismissal or other violation of labour rights due to the dissent.

Considering the probable scale of the announced strike, the Public Defender of Georgia calls on Evolution Georgia LLC to establish active communication with the employees regarding the problematic issues raised by them, to use all opportunities to reach a consensus and to refrain from actions that undermine the dignity of the employees.

As far as the Public Defender’s Office has been informed, the Labour Inspection Service has started studying the issue of Evolution Georgia LLC. We hope that the Service will study the issue thoroughly and will make a decision in accordance with legislation within a short period of time.

[1] Information is available at<https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1025573629185166&set=gm.441979852068007&idorvanity=219785880954073>