After Germany, Georgia negotiates with France, Greece, Israel on seasonal employment
By Khatia Bzhalava
Tuesday, February 23
Health Minister candidate Ekaterine Tikaradze has announced that Georgia is negotiating with France, Greece, and Israel on seasonal employment. According to her, the state is working on promoting employment in local sectors as well as temporary legal employment of Georgian citizens abroad.
Tikaradze has stated that apart from France, Greece, and Israel, negotiations regarding circular migration are also underway with Cyprus. A similar agreement has already been reached with Germany, which allows Georgian citizens to find legal employment in the country's agriculture sector for a maximum of 90 days. Tikaradze stressed that seasonal employment is one of the pilot projects for Germany and Georgia is the first country to sign this agreement. According to her, after negotiations with Germany, several European countries expressed interest towards Georgia in this direction.
The Health Minister candidate stressed that providing legal temporary employment opportunities for Georgian citizens abroad is one of the key priorities of the government. According to her, illegal emigration, which is a tough issue for both Georgia and EU member states, is significantly regulated by the existing agreement on circular migration between the two countries (Germany and Georgia).
“The agreement brings closer the countries which share labor market experience with each-other in line with the law… we have given our citizens an opportunity to be temporarily employed in EU member states, where they will receive decent wages and work in a healthy environment,” Tikaradze stated.
Tikaradze also pointed out that besides economic interests, many Georgian citizens will gain significant experience and learn about the system established in European countries. After returning to Georgia, they will be able to contribute to the further development of Georgian agriculture.
The seasonal employment program was supposed to start in 2020, though was temporarily delayed due to the global pandemic. Registration for the legal employment program in Germany started on February 15 and so far, 86 395 Georgian citizens have expressed the desire to work in Germany.
