A/HRC/44/43/Add.1 A. Occupational health and safety 18. Occupational safety and health of workers is one of the most serious human rights concerns, resulting from a labour market that was almost completely deregulated until 2015. Particularly challenging is the situation in the construction and infrastructure sectors, where large numbers of injuries and fatal accidents occur, in particular in Batumi and Tbilisi, where construction is booming. 19. According to non-official figures, between 2011 and 2018, a total of 1,081 workers were injured and 376 died. Official information shows that in 2018 alone, accidents occurring at work resulted in 59 deaths and injuries to 199 individuals.5 By the time of the visit in April 2019, 11 deaths had already been recorded since the beginning of the year. The Working Group was troubled to learn that only a few days before the visit started, two workers had died on a construction site not far from where it was holding meetings in Tbilisi. The Working Group was encouraged by the official figures for 2019, which showed that the number of fatal accidents and of injuries in the workplace had decreased by 24 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively. 6 However, the actual figures may be higher as the Working Group learned that many workers did not have proper insurance coverage, which was likely to contribute to underreporting of accidents. 20. According to the Office of the Ombudsperson, investigations had been launched into the 224 workplace incidents that occurred in 2018, which significantly exceeded the 128 incidents recorded in 2017. Of those allegations, investigations had been terminated in 67 cases and criminal prosecutions had been launched in only 19 cases. The Ombudsperson concluded that timely and effective investigation still remained a significant challenge.7 21. The Working Group considers that the lack of a comprehensive regulatory framework on occupational health and safety providing for an effective labour inspections mechanism, combined with a general lack of awareness among workers about their rights, had resulted in the alarming number of accidents recorded across sectors and throughout the country. Addressing the growing casualization of workers, especially in the construction and mining sectors, should remain a priority for the Government, requiring a stronger focus on preventive measures and effective oversight at the national and local levels. Labour inspections 22. In its meeting with the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, the Working Group learned that, after having been abolished almost 10 years earlier, a labour inspectorate (the Labour Conditions Inspection Department) had been reintroduced within the Ministry through a governmental decree in 2015. That development was a positive step towards addressing the systemic challenges related to working conditions. However, the authority of the Labour Conditions Inspection Department was limited to voluntary inspections and to issuing nonbinding recommendations for businesses. It lacked resources and had no authority to conduct unannounced inspections, except for alleged cases of human trafficking and forced labour. 23. On 21 March 2018, the Law on Labour Safety came into force, reinforcing the mandate of labour inspectors by conferring upon them the power of introducing sanctions such as warnings, setting penalties and suspending business operations. However, the law remained limited in scope as it only covered sectors that were identified as especially hard, risky and hazardous. Labour inspectors also needed to seek authorization by court order to 5 6 7 6 A total of 47 individuals died and 106 individuals were injured in 2017 (Office of the Public Defender of Georgia, Annual Report of the Public Defender of Georgia: The Situation of Human Rights and Freedoms in Georgia (2018), p. 159). In 2019, 45 persons died and 168 were injured in the workplace (Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, Labour Conditions Inspection Department: Annual Report 2019 (Tbilisi, 2019), p. 21). Office of the Public Defender of Georgia, Annual Report of the Public Defender of Georgia: The Situation of Human Rights and Freedoms in Georgia (2018), p. 161.