Context

In 2021, the Labor Inspection Service was granted the status of a legal entity under public law, and its mandate was extended to inspect the observance of labor safety and other labor rights (e.g. working hours, overtime, maternity leave) in all areas of the labor market. 

According to the statistical data published by the Labor Inspection Service, in the direction of labor safety, the service inspected: 

• In 2021, 446 workplaces;
• And 805 - in the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2022.

In the direction of supervision of labor rights, the numbers amounted to: 

• in 2021, 388 workplaces
• And 315 - in the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2022.

In 2021, within the scope of labor safety monitoring, the most places inspected were in the field of construction (234 objects), and within the scope of labor rights - in the field of healthcare and social services (124 facilities) and wholesale and retail trade (60 facilities). 

From the regional perspective, the data shows that the largest part of inspections was carried out in Tbilisi. For illustration, in 2021, labor safety standards were inspected at 254 facilities in Tbilisi, and at 60 facilities in Imereti, which is on the second place. Similarly, labor rights protection was monitored at 155 sites in Tbilisi, and at 23 sites Imereti. 

Besides, the activities of the labor inspectorate are mainly concentrated on the formal sector of employment, while a large number of workers are involved in the informal sector, where the risks of labor rights violations are much higher. 

It should be noted that according to the government's resolution of 2020, the Labor Inspection Service in 2021 also inspected the safety rules at the workplace related to Covid-19. According to the 2021 report of the Labor Inspection Service, the number of workplaces inspected within the framework of the coronavirus prevention protocol in 2021 was 12,778, which is much higher than the numbers given above in terms of labor safety and protection of labor rights. 

Although the labor inspectorate has already been released from the obligation to inspect the regulations related to COVID-19, this case shows that the mobilization of the service's resources for additional obligations may have a negative effect on the efficiency of the service in the terms of its main function - monitoring the implementation of labor regulations. 

What should we know as citizens?

The main goal of the Labor Inspection Service is to ensure the effective application of labor standards. To achieve this goal, the service uses various mechanisms: 

• To provide consultations regarding the implementation of labor regulations; 
• To raise awareness in society regarding the observance of labor regulations;  
• To receive and consider complaints regarding possible violations of labor regulations; 
• To Inspect; 
• To prepare legislative proposals regarding the improvement of the legislation. 

The inspection mechanism is particularly important among the listed above. The ground for the initiation of the inspection may be: 

• Complaint of an interested person (e.g. an employee). 
• Initiative of the inspection itself, in accordance with the adopted resolution on the procedure for entering and inspecting facilities subject to inspection; 
• A notification provided by any identifiable person regarding the violation of labor safety regulations. 

What does the inspection entail?

The labor inspector carries out inspections at the workplace. It has the right to enter the territory of the facility subject to inspection freely, without prior notice, at any time of the day or night. 

Furthermore, based on a court order, an inspector may enter any building or workspace without prior notice, at any time of the day or night, if there is reasonable suspicion that forced labor or labor exploitation is taking place.

During the inspection, the inspector enjoys wide powers. For example, he/she can inspect the production process, investigate all relevant facts and circumstances, make notes, extracts, video-recording, interview persons at the workplace, use the assistance of a technical expert, etc. 

What liability can be imposed on the employer? 

For violation of labor regulations, the employer may be charged with administrative liability, which can be as follows: 

• Warning; 
• Fine; 
• Suspension of the work process.

Usually, when a violation is detected, the Labor Inspection Service gives the employer a reasonable time to correct it, after the given time exhausts, it checks whether the instruction has been fulfilled or not. After that, he/she decides on the selection of the form of administrative responsibility.

The amount of sanctions provided in the form of a fine ranges from 200 to 1000 GEL taking into account the amount of income of the employee. The maximum amount, 1,000 GEL, can be charged to such an employer, whose total volume of VAT-taxable operations during the previous year exceeded 500,000 GEL. 

The amount of sanctions shows that in many cases the “cost” of labor rights violations for large companies can be fairly low. Therefore, even in the case of fines, their motivation to ensure the protection of labor rights at the facility can be low. Thus, the labor inspection service doesn’t effectively serve to fulfill the preventive function. 

Future perspective 

According to Article 229 of the Association Agreement between Georgia and the European Union, the parties ensure “the existence of decent work for all”. To achieve this, the role of the Labor Inspection Service is irreplaceable. In recent years, Georgia has taken positive steps in this direction. This was manifested in the re-establishment of the Labor Inspectorate, granting it institutional independence and a wide scope of action. However, in order to achieve meaningful results, it is necessary that the goal of the next stage of development is to equip the service with the necessary means to effectively implement the powers granted under the law.