Government Ministry · Georgia
The MLHSA is the lead government body for labour policy, social protection, occupational health, public health, and internally displaced persons. It is Georgia’s competent authority for ILO conventions and the primary government representative in the Tripartite Social Partnership Commission.
Combined labour, health, and IDP functions into one ministry following post-Rose Revolution government reforms.
UHC programme extended basic health coverage to all Georgian citizens — a landmark social protection reform.
Ministry coordinated emergency social protection payments and healthcare worker support during the pandemic. Significant gaps in OHS coverage for health workers exposed.
Ministry leads the transition from a medical to a rights-based model of disability assessment and support.
Multi-year strategy coordinated under ministry; includes active labour market programme expansion and professional classification reform.
Targeted Social Assistance benefit levels raised; child benefit supplement introduced for households with children under 16.
The Ministry sits at the intersection of three critical labour market functions: setting the legislative framework (via draft law preparation), administering social protection (via SSA), and enforcing labour standards (via the Labour Inspection Department). The scope of the ministry’s responsibilities creates inherent tension between its role as employer advocate (facilitating business environment) and worker protector (enforcing labour standards).
The Labour Inspection Department, which operates under the Ministry, received expanded powers under the 2019 OSH Law reforms — but remains significantly under-resourced relative to Georgia’s size and informality rate. The Ministry has committed to increasing labour inspection capacity as part of EU accession preparation.
The MLHSA functions as an effective administrative body for social protection delivery but has historically prioritised business environment facilitation over labour rights enforcement. The Labour Inspection Department’s capacity gap is the most significant structural weakness in Georgia’s labour market governance — without adequate inspection, legislative improvements in the Labour Code produce limited on-the-ground impact.
GILS notes that the Ministry’s dual role as labour market regulator and primary government interlocutor in tripartite dialogue creates a structural conflict of interest: the Ministry both sets labour standards and represents the government at the table where those standards are negotiated. Separation of these functions — or at minimum, a more autonomous Labour Inspection authority — would strengthen Georgia’s governance architecture.
GILS advocates for a significantly strengthened Labour Inspection Department with ring-fenced budget, operational independence, and adequate staffing relative to Georgia’s labour market size and informality rate. EU accession preparation provides the political leverage to achieve this.
How this organisation fits into Georgia’s broader labour market governance structure.