International OSH standards and Georgia
The ILO conventions, the ILO Global Strategy 2024–2030, EU law and ISO 45001 — and where Georgia stands on each.
Last updated: 3 October 2026
Overview
In June 2022 the International Labour Conference added a safe and healthy working environment to the ILO's fundamental principles and rights at work, making Conventions No. 155 and No. 187 fundamental conventions. Georgia has ratified neither, nor the two labour inspection conventions. This page sets out the main international instruments and what each would require.
ILO instruments
| Instrument | What it requires | Georgia |
|---|---|---|
| Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) | A national OSH policy, employer duties, workers' rights to information and to remove themselves from danger | Not ratified |
| Promotional Framework for OSH Convention, 2006 (No. 187) | A national OSH policy, system and programme, with a national profile | Not ratified |
| Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) | A labour inspection system for industry and commerce | Not ratified |
| Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) | Inspection in agriculture | Not ratified |
| Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161) | Occupational health services for all workers | Not ratified |
| List of Occupational Diseases Recommendation, 2002 (No. 194) | A national list of occupational diseases | Reference instrument |
| ILO-OSH 2001 | Guidelines on OSH management systems | Voluntary guidance |
| Global Strategy on OSH 2024–2030 | Improve national frameworks, data and competence; coordination and investment; management systems | Adopted by the ILO Governing Body, 2023 |
Sources: ILO NORMLEX (ratifications); ILO (2023). GILS reports the ratification status as published by the ILO; see ILO conventions ratified by Georgia.
EU law
- Framework Directive 89/391/EEC — the basis of EU OSH law: risk assessment, prevention principles, worker participation. Listed for approximation under the Association Agreement; not yet reported as transposed.
- Five individual directives transposed by Georgia in 2022–2023 (see Law and institutions).
- EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021–2027 — the EU policy reference, aligned with the ILO Global Strategy (ILO, 2025).
Management standards
ISO 45001:2018 is the international management-system standard for occupational health and safety, compatible with the ILO-OSH 2001 guidelines. In health care, accreditation standards for hospitals and clinics carry staff safety requirements; see Health workers.
What ratifying C155 and C187 would mean for Georgia
- A written national OSH policy and a national programme with targets, reviewed with the social partners.
- A published national OSH profile: laws, institutions, data, training capacity.
- Reliable national statistics on occupational injuries and diseases — the area where Georgia's record is weakest.
- Reporting to the ILO supervisory bodies on application.
Public health perspective (WHO)
WHO instruments complement the ILO conventions: the Global Strategy on Occupational Health for All (1994), the Global Plan of Action on Workers' Health 2008–2017 (WHA60.26), the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates (2021–), the WHO–ILO framework for health workers (2010) and the Healthy Workplace model (2010). Where the ILO conventions create obligations on states, the WHO instruments set health-system goals: basic occupational health services for all workers, surveillance of occupational disease, and health promotion at work. Georgia has adopted neither set. Workers' health: the public health perspective.
Sources
- ILO. Safety and health at work (topic portal). www.ilo.org
- ILO (2023). Nearly 3 million people die of work-related accidents and diseases; Global Strategy on OSH 2024–2030. www.ilo.org
- ILO (2025). EU–ILO partnership: safe and healthy workplaces for all. www.ilo.org
- ILO NORMLEX. Ratifications for Georgia. normlex.ilo.org
- ETF–Eurofound (2024). Working life in Georgia. www.etf.europa.eu
Figures are from the GILS Evidence Register and the official sources shown. GILS is independent of government, trade unions, employers' organisations and the ILO.
In this section
← OSH hubTwo perspectives: ILO and WHO · National OSH Profile · Normative instruments · International standards · Law and institutions · Accidents and deaths · Occupational diseases · Chemical hazards · Noise, vibration and radiation · Ergonomics and musculoskeletal disorders · Psychosocial risks at work · Construction · Mining · Agriculture · Heat and climate · Health workers · Infection and sharps · Violence · Health workers: burn-out · Women at work · Young and older workers · Workplace action and training
GILS analyses on this topic
Labour Inspection in Georgia Five Years After the Full Mandate: More Inspections, an Unratified Convention — and the Evidence Still MissingGeorgia's Labour Inspection Service has had a full mandate only since 2021. Inspections have grown fast, but Convention No. 81 is still unratified, staffing data are out of…
Georgia Wire: Parliament Hears the Labour Inspection Service’s 2025 Report — Five Years After the Full MandateParliament's Economic Policy Committee has heard the Labour Inspection Service's report for 2025: 7,111 inspections, 3,709 facilities inspected for the first time, and a reported 46% fall in…
Georgia Has Not Ratified the ILO’s Fundamental Safety Conventions: Why C155 and C187 MatterIn 2022 the International Labour Conference made a safe and healthy working environment a fundamental principle and right at work, raising the ILO's two framework conventions on occupational…
Georgia Wire: 32 Workplace Deaths in 2025, Two-Thirds in Construction — What the Labour Inspection Data ShowThe Labour Inspection Service recorded 32 workplace deaths and 179 injuries in 2025, and reported a 46% fall in fatal accidents compared with the previous year. Construction accounted…