European Social Charter’s publishes annual conclusion regarding labour rights, says situation in Georgia does not conform with some articles of the social charter.

European Committee of Social Rights has published its annual conclusions for 2014, showing 252 violations of the European Social Charter in the social and economic field across 41 Council of Europe member states, including Georgia.

The ECSR adopted 725 conclusions on articles of the Charter related to labour rights.

It has adopted annual conclusions regarding the situation in Georgia as well. (Important Note: European Social Charter’s annual conclusion regarding Georgia examined the period until the end of 2012).

According to the conclusion, the situation in Georgia does not conform with some articles of the social charter.

As the annual conclusion regarding Georgia says, the situation in our country contradicts articles 2§1, 2§2, 2§5, 2§7, 4§3, 4§4, 5, 6§1, 6§2,6§3, 6§4, 26§1, 26§2, 29. 

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The situation in Georgia is not in conformity with Article 2§1 of the Charter on the ground that there is no independent appropriate authority that supervises that daily and weekly working time limits are respected in practice. The Committee considered in this respect that this provision contravened the right of workers to reasonable limits on daily and weekly working hours, including overtime, as the working time could simply be left to the discretion of the employer or the employee and was not subject to regulation.

The situation in Georgia is not in conformity with Article 2§2 of the Charter, on the ground that it has not been established that work performed on a public holiday is adequately compensated.

The situation in Georgia is not in conformity with Article 2§5 of the Charter, on the ground that it has not been established that the right to a weekly rest period is sufficiently guaranteed.

The situation in Georgia is not in conformity with Article 2§7 of the Charter, on the ground that it has not been established that night workers are effectively subject to compulsory regular medical examination.

The situation in Georgia is not in conformity with Article 4§3 of the Charter on the ground that there is no explicit statutory guarantee of equal pay for work of equal value.

the situation in Georgia is not in conformity with Article 4§4 of the Charter, on the grounds that:

• the severance pay provided for during the reference period in the event of contract termination is not reasonable beyond three years of service; 

• no provision is made during the reference period for notice during probationary periods or in the event of termination of employment owing to a breach of the employment contract, the death of the employer or the winding up of the company;

• the severance pay applicable in the civil service when an agency has been wound up or its staff has been cut is not reasonable beyond five years of service

The situation in Georgia is not in conformity with Article 5 of the Charter, on the grounds that:

• it has not been established that the requirement as to minimum number of members presents no obstacle to the founding of organisations; 

• it has not been established that the legal framework allowing restrictions on the right to organise that may be included in employment contracts is not detrimental to the right to organise;

• the protection against discrimination based on trade union membership in the context of recruitment and dismissal is insufficient;

• it has not been established that trade unions are entitled to perform and indeed perform their activities without interferences from authorities and/or employers;

• it has not been established that the conditions possibly established with respect to representativeness of trade unions are not detrimental to the right to organise;

• it has not been established to which extent the right to organise applies to staff of law enforcement bodies and the prosecutor’s offices.

The situation in Georgia is not in conformity with Article 6§1 of the Charter on the grounds that:

• joint consultation does not take place on several levels; 

• joint consultation does not cover all matters of mutual interest of workers and employers;

• joint consultation does not take place in the public sector, including the civil service.

The situation in Georgia is not in conformity with Article 6§2 of the Charter on the grounds that: 

• voluntary negotiations between employers or employers’ organisations and workers’ organisations are not promoted in practice;

• it has not been established that an employer may not unilaterally disregard a collective agreement;

• it has not been established that the legal framework allows for the participation of employees in the public sector in the determination of their working conditions.

The situation in Georgia is not in conformity with Article 6§3 of the Charter on the ground that there is no effective conciliation, mediation or arbitration service.