Negotiations on a collective agreement in Georgia are entirely framed by statute: who the parties are, who represents the employees, in what form the agreement is concluded and what information the employer must supply — all of this has been determined by Articles 55, 56, 57 and 71 of the Labour Code. Foreign models of bargaining-unit elections and exclusive representation do not exist in the Georgian system — representation flows from Article 56.
The parties and the start of negotiations
Under Article 55 of the Code, a collective agreement is concluded between one or more employers or associations of employers and one or more associations of employees. The agreement determines working conditions and regulates the relations of the parties; the conditions themselves are determined by the parties. The decisive norm concerns initiative: where one of the parties submits an initiative to conclude the agreement, the parties are obliged to conduct negotiations in good faith. During the negotiation process the parties supply each other with information on the matters concerned; the right exists not to transmit confidential information, and where it is supplied — to demand that its confidentiality be protected. Interference by state or municipal bodies in the conclusion process is inadmissible — an agreement concluded through their interference is void.
Representation
Article 56 of the Code establishes the rules of representation: for the purposes of concluding or terminating the agreement, amending its conditions or protecting rights, the association of employees acts through a representative. Representation is confirmed by the procedure determined by the respective association, and the representative may be any capable natural person. The representative acts only in the interests of the employees who conferred the right of representation upon that person. The practical significance of this norm is simple: who sits at the negotiating table and on whose behalf they speak must be confirmed, not presumed.
The form and content of the agreement
Article 57 of the Code regulates the execution of the agreement reached: a collective agreement is concluded only in written form, for a fixed or an indefinite term. A fixed-term agreement must provide for the dates of entry into force and expiry; an indefinite-term agreement must contain provisions on revision, amendment and termination. The subjects must be defined precisely in the agreement. Where the agreement is concluded with an association in which more than 50 percent of the employees working at the relevant enterprise are members, another employee may become a party by written demand, and the employer is obliged to satisfy the demand within 30 calendar days.