Labour Rights NGO · Georgia
The Solidarity Network is Georgia’s primary independent labour rights monitoring organisation. It operates outside the formal tripartite system, providing free legal aid to workers in labour disputes and publishing the annual Georgia Workers Rights Violations Report — the most comprehensive independent documentation of labour rights violations in the country.
Established by labour rights activists following the 2008 economic crisis, which exposed widespread labour rights violations in Georgia’s construction and manufacturing sectors.
Launched free legal representation programme for workers in Labour Code disputes — filling the gap left by the absence of affordable labour law counsel for workers.
First annual Georgia Workers Rights Violations Report published — systematic documentation of labour rights violations across sectors, based on legal aid case files.
Joined the international garment worker rights network, connecting Georgian labour rights monitoring to global supply chain accountability frameworks.
Documented labour rights violations involving Russian nationals working informally in Georgia during the mass migration influx; called for formal protection extension.
Published investigative report on informal employment and safety violations in Tbilisi’s construction sector — the most dangerous industry for Georgian workers.
The Solidarity Network occupies a unique and necessary position in Georgia’s labour ecosystem: it is the only organisation that monitors labour rights violations systematically and independently, represents individual workers in disputes, and publishes findings without institutional affiliation to employers, unions, or government.
The annual Workers Rights Violations Report is the most comprehensive documentation of on-the-ground labour rights conditions in Georgia. Because it is based on the Network’s legal aid case files, it captures violations that formal statistics miss — particularly in informal employment, domestic work, and small enterprises where institutional monitoring is absent.
The Solidarity Network is the most important independent labour rights monitoring body in Georgia. Its legal aid case files represent the most granular, case-level evidence of labour rights violations available in the country — evidence that neither Geostat surveys nor Tripartite Commission reports capture. GILS considers the annual Violations Report an essential primary source for Georgian labour market research.
The Network’s independence from GTUC is a feature, not a limitation. By operating outside the formal tripartite system, it can document violations by GTUC-affiliated employers, criticise union as well as employer behaviour, and take positions on individual worker cases that institutional bodies cannot. This independence makes it a more credible monitor, even if it reduces its influence in formal policy processes.
GILS calls for the Solidarity Network’s annual Violations Report to be formally recognised as an input to the Tripartite Commission’s annual work programme — requiring the Commission to respond to documented violation patterns in its published outputs. This would close the accountability gap between civil society monitoring and formal social dialogue.
How this organisation fits into Georgia’s broader labour market governance.