Georgia: ITUC and ETUC call on European Commission to investigate trade union rights

(8 June 2011) The European and global trade union confederations, ETUC and ITUC, have written a joint letter to the European Commission about the refusal of the government of Georgia to amend its anti-union legislation.

ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow and ETUC general secretary Bernadette Ségol have called on the Commission to launch an investigation under its trade preference arrangements with Georgia.

The International Labour Organisation has repeatedly called on the Georgian government to remove a raft of legal obstacles to union rights, and to guarantee protection from discrimination, but the Georgian government has so far refused to comply.

The letter (below) from the ITUC and the ETUC to European Commissioner Karel De Gucht sets out the restrictions imposed by the Georgian government on the country’s workforce on freedom of association and collective bargaining. It also details the absence of protection for workers from being sacked for union membership or from other forms of discrimination.

For information on trade union rights in Georgia visit ITUC 2011 Survey of Violation of Trade Union Rights

ITUC press release