The IOE joined forces with ITC-ILO, with the support of the European Union, to contribute to building and strengthening the capacity of the Georgian Employers' Association (GEA) to promote a modern OSH culture at national level. The two-day event was hosted by GEA in Tbilisi from 26 to 27 September.

The event was aimed at improving OSH knowledge and understanding within GEA-member companies to align with changing national legislative frameworks.

By taking a multi-stakeholder approach, which combined a high-level event with the attendance of important political figures, policy makers, partners, and the media, and an expert technical meeting with participation of national and international OSH experts, the event:

• Promoted and built the business case for OSH and presented the services in the area of OSH available within the GEA portfolio;
• Provided information on national OSH trends and developments, and the related GEA  training services; and
• Raised awareness of the content of the main instruments, initiatives and policies and their impact on companies.

Speaking on the importance of the workshop, GEA Vice-President Mr Misha Kordzakhia commented: “Fostering good occupational safety and health practices within our membership has always been at the heart of our work at GEA, but this is an evolving area and our workshop has benefited greatly by having expert contributions from outside the country – from the IOE and the ILO – to complement our in-house expertise and experience on this occasion. This support helps us to enhance our service-offer in this area by informing it with current regulation and practice.”

Presentations, as well as the agenda and terms of reference for the workshop, that are available in English may be downloaded via the links in the side panel.

The workshop in Tbilisi is the first in a series of similar events the IOE is organising with ITC-ILO to promote and build a preventative OSH culture in the IOE’s member in the selected country.  The next workshop will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 14 December 2017.