On 20 December 2023, the Center for Law and Public Policy, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, presented its new report “Evaluation of the Transparency of the Labor Inspection Service“.
The head of the Law and Public Policy Center, Ketevan Kukava, and the social justice program manager of the Open Society Foundation, Anano Tsintsabadze, addressed the participants of the event with a welcome speech.
“Transparency and openness significantly determine public trust in public institutions,” Ketevan Kukava said. “The labor inspection system is an important mechanism for the protection of labor rights. Given the important role and functions of the Labor Inspection Service, there is a high public interest in information related to its activities. Our research shows that there are challenges in both public disclosure and proactive transparency. It is important for the Labor Inspection Service to eliminate existing deficiencies and improve the quality of transparency and openness.”
According to the report, in some cases, public information provided by the Labor Inspection Service is not complete and does not fully respond to requests submitted by the public. For example, the service did not present the list of workplaces inspected in the period of January-July 2023 (and the respective inspection reports drawn up against those employers), stating that the results of those inspections were still “processing.” The service has also failed to provide timely information related to industrial accidents.
In addition, the Labor Inspection Service does not fully meet its obligations under the government decree on “Requesting Electronically and Proactive Publication of Public Information.” The obligation to proactively publish public information has been breached both in terms of content and timeliness, which presents a significant challenge to transparency. Information related to the service’s budget, state purchases and expenses is not presented on the service’s website.
Timely elimination of deficiencies identified in the research is essential for improving the transparency and openness of the Labor Inspection Service.
