The FINANCIAL — Parliament of Georgia adopted amendments to the Georgian Labour Code to protect workers’ rights. For the first time, Georgian workers will be guaranteed overtime pay, layoff benefits, and paternity leave. The U.S. Embassy in Georgia praises Parliament of Georgia for this step and says that it will closely follow the implementation of these amendments. EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell has also issued a statement on the adoption of new legislation to amend the Labour Code of Georgia.
With 82 votes in favour against none the parliament of Georgia adopted amendments to the Labour Code aimed to protect workers’ rights. The amended Labour Code bans discrimination at workplace, defines terms of work contract, including internship and overtime payment, as well as regulates disputes, according to local media agenda.ge
The new document also regulates break times, stating that if the working hours in a day are no less than 6 hours, the employee obtains the right to minimum 60 minutes break. The nursing mothers can ask for an additional one-hour break which should be counted as a working hour. The new Labor Code also expands and reformulates internship regulations, prohibiting the extension of unpaid internships over 6 months, while paid internships should not exceed a year. The same person has a right to work as an intern with the same employer only once. The Code now bars employers to hire an intern on the position of dismissed employee, aimed at avoiding exploitation of interns, civil.ge wrote.
The U.S. Embassy in Georgia commends Georgian parliament for adopting amendments to the Georgian Labour Code to protect workers’ rights.
“The State Labor Inspectorate now has the authority to conduct unannounced inspections in all sectors. This legislation is a key step toward meeting international standards and strengthening trade relationships. The U.S. Embassy will closely follow the implementation of these amendments, including the expanded Labor Inspectorate mandate, which will be critical to ensuring fair treatment of workers,” stated U.S. Embassy in Georgia.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell has also issued a statement on the adoption of new legislation to amend the Labour Code of Georgia. EU Ambassador noted that “the amendments to the Labour Code include the most important obligations of the EU acquis that Georgia has committed to implement, in particular on labour and employee rights, safeguards against excessive working time, collective redundancies, provisions on anti-discrimination and gender equality,’’ as reported by Georgian Public Broadcasting.
Carl Hartzell congratulated the Parliament of Georgia for a “milestone approval of amendments” of the Labour Code and approval of the Law on the Labour Inspectorate. EU Ambassador said that this is a significant step forward for labour conditions in Georgia and sends a strong message in terms of Georgia delivering on its Association Agreement commitments.
Earlier this month National Statistics Office of Georgia published data of Average monthly nominal earning of employees (2020, II quarter). In the II quarter of 2020, the average monthly nominal earnings in Georgia decreased by 2.5 percent (29.6 Gel) compared to the same quarter of the previous year and amounted to 1 150.1 Gel. In the II quarter of 2020, the majority of sectors indicated the decrease in the average monthly earnings compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
In the II quarter of 2020, the average earnings equaled to 924.2 Gel for women, while 1 352.4 Gel for men. The annual growth of earnings amounted to 10.7 Gel for women, while it decreased by 67.4 Gel for men. In the majority of sectors of the economy, the average monthly earnings of men were higher compared to women. In the II quarter of 2020, the average monthly earnings of hired employees in the business sector decreased by 65,5 Gel and equaled to 1 175.6 Gel. According to the economic activity the highest monthly earnings were observed in the Professional, scientific and technical activities (2 044.3 Gel, decreased by 4.4 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year) and Information and communication (1 972.6 Gel, increased by 9.3 percent).
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