Future of Work
Platform work, artificial intelligence, the green transition and trade — and what they mean for workers in Georgia.
Last updated: 3 October 2026
Overview
Digital platforms, artificial intelligence, climate policy and trade agreements are changing how work is organised. In Georgia, the most visible change so far is app-based delivery work, where the legal status of couriers has been contested. International evidence suggests that generative AI is more likely to transform tasks than to eliminate whole jobs, and the green transition will create and destroy jobs unevenly. Georgia's official statistics do not yet measure most of these developments directly.
Key figures
2020
First Labour Inspection finding of an employment relationship for platform couriers
2024
EU Platform Work Directive adopted — presumption of employment
European Union
Platform work
- In 2020, after a courier traffic accident, the Labour Inspection Service inspected a leading delivery platform, found an employment relationship despite a service contract, and sanctioned the company for safety violations; the company challenged the findings in court (HRW, 2021; Social Justice Center et al., 2023).
- In January 2021, couriers struck after a cut in the per-kilometre rate from GEL 0.40 to 0.30; the company partially agreed to their demands (openDemocracy, 2021; Civil.ge, 2021).
- In 2023, the Ministry declined to appoint a mediator in a dispute between Wolt couriers and the company, on the grounds that the couriers were not employees (Social Justice Center et al., 2023).
See the GILS analysis of the EU Platform Work Directive and Georgia.
Georgia and the EU
| Indicator | Georgia | EU-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Employment in information and communication (share of all employment) | 1.1% (2025) | — |
| ICT specialists (share of all employment) | — | 5.0% (2025) |
| Platform work directive | Not applicable | Directive (EU) 2024/2831, adopted 14 October 2024 |
Sources: Geostat (GILS calculation); Eurostat. The two employment measures use different definitions: sector of employment versus occupation.
Artificial intelligence and skills
The ILO's research suggests that generative AI is more likely to augment than destroy jobs, with clerical work most exposed (ILO, 2023). For Georgia, where many young workers are overeducated for their jobs, the question is how education and training adapt — see the GILS analysis AI, skills and young workers in Georgia and Youth, Skills & Education.
Green transition and trade
Climate policy will change employment in energy-intensive industries. The GILS analysis Climate plans need workers, not just disclosure draws lessons from Duisburg for Georgia. Trade agreements can also carry labour provisions — see pro-worker trade policy and Georgia's EU free trade agreement.
Research map
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2023) — Georgia: online platforms and platform work. fes.de
- Human Rights Watch (2021) — app-based jobs emerge as a battleground for workplace safety in Georgia. hrw.org
- openDemocracy (2021) — delivery drivers in Tbilisi. opendemocracy.net
- OC Media (2021) — couriers' strike and plans for a gig-economy trade union. oc-media.org
- ILO (2023) — generative AI likely to augment rather than destroy jobs. ilo.org
Health at work: the WHO perspective
WHO and the ILO issued a joint technical brief on healthy and safe telework in 2022, covering ergonomics, working time, isolation and the blurring of work and home; the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates warn that long working hours — the risk telework can amplify — already cause about 745,000 deaths a year (WHO and ILO, 2021). Platform work raises the questions WHO's plan addresses under access to occupational health services: workers outside employment relationships are outside most services. WHO's 2022 guidelines on mental health at work apply to digital and remote work as to any other. Workers' health: the public health perspective.
Data gaps
- Platform workers are not identified separately in Georgian official statistics.
- There are no official data on the use of AI or automation by Georgian employers.
- Employment effects of climate policy in Georgia have not been assessed in published official studies.
GILS analyses on this topic
AI, Skills and Young Workers in Georgia: What the ILO’s 2026 Evidence Says — and What It Doesn’tThe ILO's 2026 reports identify the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence as one of the risks facing labour markets, while finding that AI-specific skills are still a small…
Georgia and the ILO’s Employment and Social Trends 2026: How Georgia Compares with the Global PictureIn January 2026 the ILO published Employment and Social Trends 2026, its annual flagship assessment of the world's labour markets. Its central message — headline stability masking stalled…
Climate Plans Need Workers, Not Just Disclosure: Lessons from Duisburg for GeorgiaA recent Social Europe essay argues that corporate climate plans need workers' involvement, not just disclosure, citing the 12,000 steelworkers who marched in Duisburg in support of green…
Pro-Worker Trade Policy: What Georgia’s EU Free Trade Agreement Shows About Labour Standards — and Their LimitsA recent Social Europe essay argues for moving beyond the choice between free trade and protectionism towards a pro-worker trade policy, proposing four changes ranging from enforceable labour…
The EU Platform Work Directive: What a Presumption of Employment Would Mean for Georgia’s CouriersThe EU's Platform Work Directive, adopted in October 2024, introduces a legal presumption that platform workers are employees when a platform directs and controls their work, and new…Sources for this page
- ETF–Eurofound (2024). Working life in Georgia. etf.europa.eu
- Human Rights Watch (2021). App-based jobs emerge as battleground for workplace safety in Georgia. www.hrw.org
- openDemocracy (2021). In Tbilisi, delivery drivers learn their power lies in stopping work. www.opendemocracy.net
- Civil.ge (2021). Glovo couriers' strike ends. civil.ge
- Social Justice Center et al. (2023). Submission to the UN CESCR (archived copy). web.archive.org
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2023). Georgia: online platforms and platform work. collections.fes.de
- ILO (2023). Generative AI likely to augment rather than destroy jobs. www.ilo.org
- Geostat (2026). Employment by economic activity. www.geostat.ge
Figures are from the GILS Evidence Register and the official sources shown. GILS is independent of government, trade unions, employers' organisations and the ILO.