Due to a narrow definition of safety, Georgia’s newly passed law on occupational safety lacks laws on workers’ rights – working hours, overtime pay and necessary breaks are still not adequately regulated. Because of these weak regulations, worker deaths are still increasing.
In early April 2018, Mikheil, a 54-year-old miner in Georgia, heard sirens when he was about to start his morning shift. He would soon learn that an explosion at the mine had killed six of his employees, including Pavle, his 25-year-old nephew. However, the mine soon reopened and he was called back to work.
According to his son, Mikheil was scared and could hardly sleep for months. Every night he was haunted by pictures of those who had died in the mine, and he was worried that he would be next. One evening in July, in the small kitchen of one of their apartments, he was sharing stories with other colleagues. He told them he never wanted to work in the mine again. But the next morning he went underground again – that day he and three others died in an accident.
Ongoing investigations and legal proceedings into the fatal accidents at the coal mine last year provide an opportunity to learn from these tragedies and to bring justice to the families that have survived. However, more is needed to protect the safety of workers across the country.
The law doesn’t go far enough
The amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act passed this week are a welcome response to terrible tragedies such as the one that killed Micheil and many others. But they won’t come into full effect until September and they don’t go far enough.
The changes expand the scope of safety inspections, allow inspectors free and unrestricted access to any company in any area of activity, and give inspectors the power to issue enforceable recommendations and fines. But the law defines “security” narrowly.
For example, inspectors can check whether the ventilation system in a mine is working, but not whether the working hours are appropriate and the workers are given sufficient rest. You can check that a train’s brakes are working, but not that the pressures to meet production goals are so high that workers are forced to take risks.
Fair working conditions and respect for workers’ rights are key to ensuring the safety of workers, especially when performing hazardous work such as mining. Deregulation in the mid-2000s, though followed by some re-regulation over the years, has left Georgia with relatively weak worker protection. The Georgian law does not yet adequately regulate work and rest times, weekly breaks, night work and overtime pay, among other things.
In December, mine workers told me they were working 12-hour shifts for 15 consecutive days with no time off. Every two months the workers do night shifts with the same schedule. Workers then get the following two weeks off. As the system speeds up production for the company, workers say the schedule is putting their safety at risk.
Workers must be aware of safety hazards, such as the creaking or bending of wooden supports, which could signal an impending roof collapse. “When workers are exhausted, they cannot think clearly or make decisions. In this state they can make mistakes, ”said one worker. “By the ninth or tenth night of work, everyone is exhausted and many workers fall asleep, even tractor drivers fall asleep,” said another worker. Last year he suffered a deep cut in his waist after an exhausted colleague accidentally set an electric chainsaw in motion.
An increase in the death toll
A study funded by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation estimates that the number of deaths at work in Georgia has increased by 74% since 2006. Fifty-nine workers died in 2018, according to the prosecutor, a state agency that oversees people’s rights in Georgia. Changes to the Occupational Safety Act, while a step in the right direction, mean that Georgia does not have a full labor inspectorate in line with the standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the requirements of the Georgia-EU Association Agreement.
Georgia should establish an independent labor inspectorate with adequate, appropriately trained staff. The regulator should have a broad mandate and be able to review the full range of security and labor rights. Georgia should also bring its labor legislation fully in line with ILO standards. Until then, the country will not do enough to protect its workers.
