On 23 July 2025 a delegation from ETUC visited GTUC in Tbilisi to support Georgian trade unions and to highlight the role of trade unions in the EU accession process.
In meetings with the EU Ambassador, the delegation discussed the EU’s assessment of the country’s democratic backsliding, which threatens Georgia's democratic foundations and its future place in the EU.
The delegation also stressed that the EU must send a clear and unequivocal message that social dialogue and the role of trade unions must be respected at all stages of accession talks when these are resumed. In the EU assessment of the country’s readiness, EU institutions must consult with the social partners and not only have a dialogue with national authorities, opposition parties and selected civil society organisations.
The delegation noted that progress was made in a number of aspects of labour law thanks to the process of approximation to EU law. However, this progress has now stalled and labour issues seem to have been sidelined in the accession process. Issues remain with public services law, minimum wage and promotion of collective bargaining, OSH, social protection and unemployment benefits, inadequate maternity protection as well as a high gender pay gap.
The delegation also raised concerns about the EU considering the suspension of visa free travel for Georgians, which will undermine their support for EU membership and affect working people, students and their families disproportionately. The delegation has expressed a preference for targeted measures instead.
In meetings with the Minister of Labour, the delegation expressed grave concern about recent legislative developments that pose significant threats to the fundamental freedoms and rights of workers and their organizations, as well as to the broader democratic space in the country.
In particular, the amendments to the Law on Public Service (2024) raise serious concerns over the significant deterioration of employment conditions for public servants, which creates unprecedented job insecurity, weakens labour protections against arbitrary dismissal and negatively impacts their ability to exercise their rights and freedoms.
The delegation acknowledged that social dialogue is providing solutions to ongoing labour disputes in the mining sector and we hope that social dialogue becomes normal practice to identify structural solutions to other issues including in the legal framework.
We also hope that the ILO technical assistance requested by the government will address relevant legislative initiatives affecting the social partners and the functioning of the Tripartite Social Partnership Commission.
Finally, the ETUC and GTUC resolved to continue to work together on strengthening capacity building for EU integration and on maintaining the aspirations of Georgian workers to join the EU.