⇒ Despite commitments to international labor standards through their Association Agreements with the EU, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine have great deficiencies in the field of employment.

⇒ The implementation of the labor-related directives of the AAs is insufficient. Poor and unsafe working conditions, informal and unstable employment, and discrimination in the workplace remain huge issues. Hundreds of workers die every year as a result of occupational accidents.

⇒ The three countries must work towards quick legal approximation and effective implementation of the respective laws, as further stagnation could damage the legitimacy of the EU integration process.

⇒ The establishment of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area as well as the technical and financial assistance provided by the EU have contributed to steady economic growth in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. However, employees do not profit from this positive economic development. On the contrary, they often find themselves in poor and unsafe working conditions, in informal and unstable employment, or face discrimination in the workplace. Every year, hundreds of workers die as a result of occupational accidents due to poor safety measures.

⇒ With the signing of the Association Agreements, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine promised to approximate national law and national standards to those of the EU and ILO. However, the pace of the legal approximation and implementation of the respective directives is very slow and, in the social sphere, remains insufficient. There are still huge discrepancies between the EU and national legislation as well as between national law and national practice.

⇒ Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine must work towards advancing workers’ rights while, at the same time, the EU should hold these countries accountable for their commitments in the social sphere. Recommendations include: the setup or recommissioning of labor inspection in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine; a strong collaboration between the EU and the three countries in the monitoring of the implementation process in the social field by establishing a Labor, Employment, and Social Matters Association Committee; the provision of detailed annual progress reports on the legal approximation and the actual implementation of the relevant directives and norms; the mandatory involvement of trade unions and civil society organizations in the AA implementation process; the introduction of sanction mechanisms against violations of the standards agreed upon.