On July 16, 2018, explosion at the Mindeli mine in Tkibuli, Imereti region, left four people killed and six injured. The Public Defender expresses her sorrow over the incident and offers sympathy to the families of the victims.

Unfortunately, there have been a number of cases of deaths in the workplace in the recent past. 15 people have died at the Mindeli mine in the last three years (1- in October 2016, 4 – in May 2017, 6 - in April 2018 and 4 – on 16 July 2018). The number of deaths increases annually, which once again points to the problem of safety in the workplace.

Protection of the right to life shall be the main task of the state and the Public Defender welcomes the statement made by the Prime Minister today, according to which, the Tkibuli shafts will be closed before the completion of the investigation and highly qualified international examination. According to the decision of the Social Partnership Trilateral Commission made in April of the current year, the decision on whether the Tkibuli shafts would continue operation or not was to be made in accordance with complex audit. In case of shutting down the shafts, the Government was to take care of the development of local economy and creation of alternative sources of employment. However, even three months after the meeting, there are still no tangible results in this direction.

In addition, we welcome the part of the Prime Minister's statement concerning the compensations for the employees of the mine for the period when the operation will be suspended.

The Public Defender has repeatedly observed systemic shortcomings in the investigations ongoing into the cases of violation of labour safety. It is important investigation in such cases to be carried out effectively, timely and thoroughly, and appropriate measures to be taken in relation to all persons responsible for the incident in order to minimize violation of labour safety, deaths and damage to health in the workplace in the future.

The Public Defender will observe the process of investigation, as well as the international technical examination in the present case.