Thursday, October 25, 2007, #204 (1471)

New Rights demand limits on foreign workers
By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dundua)

The New Rights opposition party is proposing a law to limit job permits for foreign citizens.

Party leader Davit Gamkrelidze commented that many foreigners find work in Georgia despite the high unemployment rate plaguing locals.

The law would limit work visas to foreign professionals in high demand by the Georgian market.

The party underlined its support for foreign investment in Georgia, but said this should not lead to foreign workers taking Georgian jobs.

“Kazakh businessmen are purchasing state assets in Likani [mountain resort in western Georgia] but employing Kazakhs, not Georgians, to work there,” remarked New Rights MP Pikria Chikradze.
“Similarly, when the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline was built the majority of construction workers came from Pakistan, Turkish people are working on the roads, and these Chinese—there is absolutely no control,” Chikradze added, according to the newspaper Alia.

Party representatives point out that other countries enforce labor restrictions, saying that Georgia should follow suit.

They are also pushing for a stipulation in the current privatization drive that would make companies winning government tenders employ Georgian workers, Alia reports.



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