Jeff Vize

Georgia has come a long way since the 1990s, a decade marred by civil war, political instability, and a faltering economy. But there’s one area where the country has, quite literally, remained stuck in that distant past: its minimum wage. Georgia’s private sector minimum wage was last updated in 1999, and currently stands at ₾20 ($7.50) per month. That makes it one of the lowest monthly minimum wages in the world — about enough to buy a few litres of milk.

Against a backdrop of pervasive labour violations and poor protection of workers’ rights, the decision by Georgia’s Labour Inspectorate to cease naming and shaming employers who violate their employees’ rights is a step backwards. Georgia’s nascent Labour Inspectorate, the body overseeing labour safety and rights in the country, began redacting employers’ names from its public inspection reports in mid-April, prompting outcry and a legal pushback from labour monitoring organisations.