Verdict: FactCheck concludes that Beno Kashakashvili’s statement is FALSE.

Resume:

In accordance with the Public Defender’s 2017 report, the absence of an effective body for the supervision of the observance of workplace safety remains one of the biggest challenges for Georgia. The statistics about the number of dead and injured people as a result of workplace accidents is quite unstable and unpredictable.

In 2010, 102 people were injured and 42 people died as a result of workplace accidents. In 2014, the number of injured was 72 and the number of deaths was 45. In 2016, the number of injured was 85 and the number of deaths was 58. In 2017, the number of injured increased to 106 whilst the number of deaths amounted to 47.

As FactCheck

analysed the official data provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it became evident that the real picture does not correspond with Beno Kashakashvili’s figures.

Analysis On air on TV Pirveli’s talk show, People’s Politics, Georgian Dream member, Beno Kashakashvili, stated:

“If we take a look at the statistics for 2010-2017 [about workplace accidents occurring on the territory of Georgia], the highest number of people – 81 – died in 2010 whilst 168 people were severely injured. In 2014, the number of deaths was 41-42, in 2016 – 58 and in 2017, the number of deaths dropped to 15 and the number of injured decreased to 12. The statistics have changed by nearly 40%.”

FactCheck

took interest in the accuracy of the statement.

In accordance with the Public Defender’s 2017 parliamentary report,

the absence of an effective body for the supervision of the observance of workplace safety remains one of Georgia’s most important challenges. The establishment of an effective labour inspection service is one of the main priorities of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement agenda.

In 2017, the Government of Georgia adopted the 2017 State Programme

for the Inspection of Labour Conditions. However, this programme did not result in the expansion or the enhancement of the inspecting body’s authority. As a result, the number of cases of identified violations during the inspection process is substantially few.

On 7 March 2018, the Parliament of Georgia adopted the Law

on Labour Safety. The Law stipulates the establishment of a mechanism which would be responsible for ensuring the compliance of obligations in regard to labour safety. In the case of detecting a violation, the supervising body is authorised to impose sanctions. However, the fact that the supervising body does not have a mandate of unconditional access to the employer still remains a significant problem.

Despite the aforementioned legislative changes, the numbers of dead and injured as a result of workplace accidents are alarming according to the statistical data

provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. The table below shows that the statistics do not follow any particular order and have been rather unstable from 2010 to today. In 2010, the number of injured was 102 and the number of deaths was 42. In 2014, the number of injured was 72 and the number of deaths was 45. In 2016, the numbers of injured and dead were 85 and 58, respectively. In 2017, the number of injured increased and reached 106 whilst the number of deaths amounted to 47. Since 2010, the highest number of people (289) were wounded in 2012 as a result of workplace accidents whilst the least amount of injured (72) was registered in 2014. The highest number of deaths (58) was registered in 2016 whilst the least amount – 23 – was registered in 2013.

Table 1:

Number of Deaths and Injured as a Result of Workplace Accidents

Year	Number of Injured	Number of Deaths
2010	102	42
2011	137	54
2012	289	48
2013	111	23
2014	72	45
2015	82	42
2016	85	58
2017	106	47
2018 (six months)	77	35

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia