Establishment of Georgia’s first labour union for domestic and care workers

In Georgia, local legislation does not recognize the concept of domestic work, and the country has not ratified the International Labour Organization’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189). Consequently, domestic workers do not enjoy the same basic rights and benefits that local labour legislation provides to other employment categories. The vast majority of domestic workers in Georgia - 99 per cent - are women, and UN Women actively supports the protection of their labour rights.

Part of this support includes working with the Association of Nannies and Domestic Workers, which established the Domestic and Care Workers’ Union in June 2025. The union aims to organize domestic workers and protect their rights. The union already has about 100 members, including nannies, cleaners, tutors, personal assistants for children, nurses, cooks, elderly care workers and aestheticians.

“A labour union is a decision to fight together - when people with similar professions or work experience come together around common interests and find ways to deal with challenges. We are taking the first steps now, and we believe in what we are doing,” says Ina Charkviani, co-founder of the Domestic and Care Workers’ Union.

Domestic workers began taking the first steps towards unionizing in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they were unable to receive State benefits and assistance due to their informal employment status, lost their jobs en masse or continued to work under significantly worse conditions. These issues served as an incentive and motivation for them to consider unity and the importance of recognizing and formalizing their work. They then began organizing, developed a written contract for nannies and held their first consultations on labour rights.

By 2023, with the support of UN Women, the Association of Nannies and Domestic Workers was legally established to empower women employed in families and to protect their labour and social rights. The association unites about 300 official members and offers them telephone consultations and legal advice. Over the past two years, the association has expanded its work in the family, studied the issue of domestic labour together with UN Women, established a permanent hotline (551 811 911) and opened a meeting place - a workspace where domestic workers can gather and plan, located at 14 Tabukashvili Street in Tbilisi.

In 2024, the association also established a Domestic Workers Employment Centre. The centre assists women interested in domestic work in finding an employer and securing employment based on an employment contract, which allows them to have unhindered access to the terms and conditions of their employment.

To further the activities of the Association of Nannies and Domestic Workers, the newly established labour union of domestic and care workers will soon begin working on issues of importance to emigration and migrant domestic workers. UN Women will continue to cooperate with the union and support its activities in the future.

The cooperation between UN Women and the Association of Nannies and Domestic Workers is part of the UN Women project “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus”. The project is implemented with the financial support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).