Safety in construction

Overview

Construction accounts for the largest number of workplace deaths in Georgia in every year for which data exist: 78 of the deaths recorded in 2019–2023 and 21 of the 32 deaths in 2025 (Fair Labour Platform data; Georgia Today, 2026). Falls from height, collapses and equipment accidents are the typical mechanisms recorded in inspection reports, although the Service does not publish a national breakdown by cause. The sector employed about 122,600 people in 2025, 8.8% of all employment (Geostat).

Key figures

Employment and risk

GILS indicative rate: 78 deaths over five years ÷ average construction employment 2019–2023 (101.5 thousand) ≈ 15.4 deaths per 100,000 workers a year. The EU-27 standardised rate for construction was 6.1 per 100,000 in 2024 (Eurostat, hsw_n2_02). The two figures must not be read as a like-for-like comparison: Eurostat's standardised rate (6.1 per 100,000 in 2024) adjusts for sector structure and excludes road-traffic and transport deaths at work, while the GILS figure is a crude ratio of recorded deaths to Labour Force Survey employment and excludes the informal construction work that is largely unrecorded. It indicates an order of magnitude, not a ranking.

Rules and enforcement

• Employers must assess risks, provide personal protective equipment and designate an accredited safety specialist under the Organic Law on Occupational Safety (2019).
• Inspectors may enter sites without notice and suspend work; 361 workplaces had operations suspended for safety violations in 2023 (Formula, 2024).
• EU benchmark: the Temporary or Mobile Construction Sites Directive 92/57/EEC, which requires coordinators and safety plans; it is among the directives listed for approximation under the Association Agreement and had not been reported as transposed by 2024 (ETF–Eurofound, 2024).
• ILO benchmark: the Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167) — not ratified by Georgia (ILO NORMLEX).

What employers must do

The duties below summarise what Georgian law requires and what the EU and ILO benchmarks add; "benchmark" marks instruments Georgia has not yet adopted. For a full self-assessment with an action plan, use the GILS Risk Assessment Checklist.

• Designate an accredited occupational safety specialist and keep a written, site-specific risk assessment, reviewed at each new phase
  Basis: Organic Law on Occupational Safety (2019)
• Provide collective fall protection first (guard rails, covers, scaffolds inspected by trained workers) and harnesses only where that is impossible
  Basis: EU Directives 92/57/EEC and 2001/45/EC (benchmarks); 89/656/EEC on PPE, transposed
• Shore or batter excavations, locate underground services, separate vehicles and pedestrians, control reversing
  Basis: EU Directive 92/57/EEC (benchmark)
• Control silica dust with water or extraction and respirators; survey for asbestos before refurbishment
  Basis: EU Directive 2004/37/EC (benchmark); ILO Convention No. 162
• Provide drinking water, shade and rest in heat, welfare facilities, first aid, and free PPE that is worn
  Basis: Organic Law on Occupational Safety (2019); ILO Recommendation No. 102
• Report every accident to the Labour Inspection Service and record near misses
  Basis: Organic Law on Occupational Safety (2019); ILO Protocol of 2002

This summary is general information, not legal advice; the written risk assessment and the accredited safety specialist remain the legal requirements under the Organic Law on Occupational Safety.

Sources

• Georgia Fair Labour Platform (2024). Workplace Death & Injury Statistics (archived copy). web.archive.org
• Georgia Today (2026). Labour Inspection Service 2025 report. georgiatoday.ge
• Geostat (2026). Employment by economic activity. www.geostat.ge
• Eurostat. Fatal accidents at work by NACE activity (hsw_n2_02). ec.europa.eu
• ETF–Eurofound (2024). Working life in Georgia. www.etf.europa.eu
• Formula News (2024). Labour Inspection Service: 3,765 safety inspections and 361 suspensions in 2023 (in Georgian; cited from the Service's 2023 report).

Figures are from the GILS Evidence Register and the official sources shown. GILS is independent of government, trade unions, employers' organisations and the ILO.

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