“Best Employees” Sacked from Military Hospital

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Shida Kartli

Sisters from Gori – Ia and Lika Kolbaias were together sacked from Gori military hospital. They applied to Human Rights Center’s Gori office. According to the presented materials, Kolbaias had received bonuses in March and May of 2013 for excellent work and performance. In June,  head of the hospital Irakli Kurtskhalia sacked them from work. 

What is going on in the military hospital? Lika Kolbaia said MP Tamaz Shioshvili from Gori, his alley Davit Tsetsvadze and deputy director of Military Hospital Davit Gogiashvili run the human resource policy in the hospital. 

Before winning the elections, Tamaz Shioshvili was member of Irakli Alasania’s security division; then he joined the political party Free Democrats and became leader of the party in Gori.

Legally, Lika and Ia Kolbaias were dismissed from the registry and chancellery of the military hospital based on the order issued on June 12, 2013. 

They had worked at hospital for a long time. In March, Lika Kolbaia was asked to write resignation letter requesting to re-employ her. The hospital director wrote in the new decree to hire the sisters as interim employees. On June 12, 2013 an issue of the hospital reorganization was raised and it resulted into the sisters’ dismissal from the hospital. Their family remained without any income. 

“We were sacked in accordance to the Article 37 sub-paragraph “d” of the Labor Code of Georgia which states that employer can drop labor contract at any time. The hospital administration made decision about our dismissal before the new labor code was adopted. Our contract was ceased on June 12, 2013 before the amendments went to force on July 1,” Lika Kolbaia said.

Indeed, the amended Labor Code went into force from July 4, 2013. It obliges the employer to fire an employee based on well-grounded decision and motivation. No reasons are mentioned in the order issued on June 12, 2013.

The documents presented to Human Rights Center showed that the sisters had not received any rebukes during their work in hospital.

“It is noteworthy that we had not replaced anybody when getting employed at the hospital. I mean, nobody was fired from the hospital to hire us. But now, they fired us because they want to hire new people,” Ia Kolbaia said.

It is problematic for journalists to enter the military hospital. Human Rights Center can have access only to the hospital’s official documents. The director’s order signed by Irakli Kurtskhalia reads:

“In accordance to the Article 37 subparagraph “d” of the Labor Code of Georgia, Article 38 Part III of the same code, according to the Article 3 Part III “c” of the Military Hospital’s regulations approved by the Decree # 297 of the Minister of Defense on October 25, 2006, based on the staff list approved by the Minister of Defense on June 20, 2013 and based on the appointment order of the interim director of the military hospital labor contract shall be ceased and [Ia and Lika Kolbaias] were dismissed from the position of the registrar at the Emergency Medicine Department,” the order reads.