Social Dialogue & Trade Unions

Overview

Georgia's formal social dialogue rests on the Tripartite Social Partnership Commission, which brings together the government, the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation and the Georgian Employers' Association. Independent unions have emerged alongside the Confederation since 2020. Geostat does not publish collective bargaining coverage; ILO estimates put it at 11–14% of employees. Several labour disputes in recent years have tested the procedures for conciliation and strikes.

Key figures

Institutions

In 2022 the GTUC and the GEA signed a memorandum of cooperation, including on the minimum wage — see the GILS analysis.

Georgia, the region and the EU

Sources: ILOSTAT (latest year in brackets); ILO estimate for 2021 cited in ETF–Eurofound (2024). In many EU countries coverage far exceeds union membership because agreements are extended to whole sectors; in Georgia bargaining is almost entirely at company level.

Collective bargaining and disputes

The right to strike is guaranteed by the Constitution (Article 26) and regulated by the Labour Code, which requires conciliation before a strike (Social Justice Center et al., 2023). Civil society organisations documented several disputes in 2023, including a strike by workers of the mineral water company Sairme, protests by Wolt delivery couriers, the Chiatura miners' protest in June 2023 and a strike at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre in November 2023 (Social Justice Center et al., 2023). In the Wolt case, the Ministry declined to appoint a mediator on the grounds that the couriers were not in an employment relationship with the company (Social Justice Center et al., 2023).

Accounts of these disputes are as reported by the organisations named; the companies and authorities concerned may hold different views.

Research map

• Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung — Social dialogue in Georgia. fes.de
• ILO — evaluation of the project "Promoting labour relations and social dialogue in Georgia". ilo.org
• OC Media (2024) — calls for a general strike — where are the unions? oc-media.org
• Publika — two years since the historic strike (in Georgian). publika.ge
• Social Justice Center et al. (2023) — submission to the UN CESCR on collective bargaining and strikes. Archived copy
• Georgian Employers' Association (2022) — memorandum of cooperation with the GTUC. employer.ge

Data gaps

• There are no official statistics on trade union membership or density; figures come from the unions themselves.
• Geostat does not publish collective bargaining coverage (ILO estimates exist), and collective agreements are not collected in a public register in accessible form.
• Strikes and lockouts are not recorded in official statistics in accessible form.

Positions of the social partners (as documented)

GILS reports the positions of workers' and employers' organisations as they have stated them publicly. Both organisations may request corrections or publish a reply under the right-of-reply policy.

Positions are summarised from the sources linked; wording is GILS's. Where GILS has not found a public position on an issue, none is attributed.

GILS analyses on this topic

Global Wire · 15 Sep 2026Pro-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…GILS Analysis · 11 Sep 2026Georgia’s First Decent Work Country Programme (2024–2026): Two Priorities, Nine Outcomes — and the Questions It Leaves OpenOn 13 August 2024, the Government of Georgia, the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation, the Georgian Employers' Association and the ILO signed Georgia's first Decent Work Country Programme. It…GILS Analysis · 8 Sep 2026Georgia’s Tripartite Commission: A Broad Mandate, Limited Results — and the Design Changes That Could HelpGeorgia created a Tripartite Social Partnership Commission in 2009 and gave it a statutory basis in 2013. Its stated purpose is to promote social dialogue between government, employers…GILS Analysis · 4 Sep 2026The 2022 GTUC–GEA Memorandum: Social Partners’ Cooperation on the Minimum Wage — and the Steps Still NeededOn 21 October 2022, the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC) and the Georgian Employers' Association (GEA) signed a memorandum of cooperation committing them to develop joint positions on…GILS Analysis · 29 Aug 2026Collective Bargaining in Georgia: Why Coverage Is Not Yet MeasuredHow many Georgian workers are covered by a collective agreement? No one can say with confidence: Georgia publishes no official statistic on collective bargaining coverage, and figures in…GILS Analysis · 19 Aug 2026Who Documents Labour Rights Violations in Georgia? Independent Unions, Civil Society and the Labour Inspection ServiceWho documents labour rights violations in Georgia? Alongside the Labour Inspection Service and the Public Defender, independent unions and civil society organisations — the Solidarity Network, the New…GILS Analysis · 11 Aug 2026Trade Union Membership in Georgia: Roughly One in Six Employees — and Why Organisation Still MattersGeorgia does not publish an official trade union density statistic. Using the membership figure reported by the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation and Geostat's count of hired employees, GILS…

Related data and standards

• Social dialogue in Georgia
• Organisations

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Sources for this page

• ETF–Eurofound (2024). Working life in Georgia. etf.europa.eu
• Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Social Dialogue in Georgia. collections.fes.de
• OC Media. Georgian Trade Unions Confederation membership. oc-media.org
• Publika. Two years since the historic strike. publika.ge
• Social Justice Center et al. (2023). Submission to the UN CESCR (archived copy). web.archive.org
• Geostat (2024). Hired employees, Q4 2023. 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.