Caucasus University
Caucasus School of Governance
Syllabus
Course
Industrial relations systems in Georgia
Course Code
Annotation of the Course
Status of the Course
Industrial relations under post-soviet transformation in Georgia. Soviet legacy. Post-Soviet
econimic and social trends. Work and labor under transformation, labor migration. Trade
Unions, social dialogue , strikes and labor conflicts. Globalisation, EU assosiation and labor
rights. Labor code and ILO. Dual economy, wulnerable emloyment and future trends.
Obligatory
Optional
ECTS
School, Grade/Level, Group
School
Teaching Grade
Governance
LL.B
Group
Lecturer
Working Place
Academic Degree
Academic Position
Work Telephone
Mobile Phone
E mail
Consultancy Time
LL.M
PHD
Semester
Marina Muskhelishvili
Centre for Social Studies
Dr.
Lecturer
599 503062
marinmus@yahoo.com
after class
Daily, by e-mail.
Preconditions to the Course
Format of the course
Class
Other
45 hours
15 weeks, 3 hours per week
Hours for independent work, including for the preparation for mid-term and
final exams, as well as for the preparation of the in-class presentation
1
Objectives of the Course
Outcome of the teaching
Compulsory Reading
Supplementary Literature
and Other Sources of
Information
Teaching Methods
Objective of teaching this subject is to let students:

critically evaluate the impact and the role of labor realtions in social, economic and
political development;

engage with debates around the issue

understand concepts and research methods in industrial relations;

understand the problem in the context of European integration;

theoretical and practical frames and research skills for the analysis of industrial
relations and labor problems in Georgia.
On completion of the subject students should have developed the following generic skills:

attitudes towards knowledge and critical approach, avoiding sentimentality and being
open (without necessarily accepting) new and/or different ideas;

the capacity for close reading and analysis of a range of sources;

the capacity for critical and independent thought and reflection;

the capacity to plan and manage time;

the capacity to work effectively in a team

A reader will be available to the students with additional papers and articles

The cource is planned as problem-oriented, stressing creative thinking about Georgian reality.
The course is planned as interactive to the maximum degree possible.
Respectively, the expectation is that the class/lecture shall also be interactive to the maximum
degree possible. Classes will also be devoted to presentations of students, debates as well as
discussions.
One of the elements to ensure the interactive course is doing partial reading of the new
material by students before the lecture. Respectively, in order to have better comprehension of
the issues of this complex subject there is an expectation that students will make themselves
familiar with the material to consider at the next lecture at a minimum level, in order to get
actively engaged in putting questions during lecture.
Students are expected to prepare:

In-class test
There will be 1 mid-term exam based on readings, lectures, discussions and other courserelated materials (including videos available online)

Position paper
During the semester each student will prepare an oral 15-minute in-class presentation with an
accompanying paper (2 pages long max). The paper MUST be circulated it among course
participants via e-mail 48 hours before the class. The aim is to stimulate the discussion. The
paper has to be based on one or more readings, or any other topic related to the course and can
be supported by other means (i.e. visual aid and internet).

Final paper
An essay of about 2,500-3,000 words paper (excluding bibliography). Any topic is acceptable as
far as it is related to industrial relations. A proposal for the final paper should be submitted by
week 11.The proposal should be not longer than 2 pages, and it should include the proposed
topic with the main questions or hypotheses, the methods of inquiry, and a rough
bibliography. The proposals will be discussed in class on the 11th week.
Note: all papers should be in Times New Roman font double space
2
Requirements for the
Students
-
-
Knowledge Assessment
Forms and Criteria
Students must attend lectures. There shall not be justification for missing classes without
solid reason. Not attending classes will be resembled at the final grade.
No recovery classes will be scheduled to make up the oral presentations.
Students must attentively follow the lecture and participate actively in the discussions
around the topics considered during the class.
No other activities are allowed by students during the classes (talking to each other,
writing something unrelated, etc.)
No mobile phones and using them are allowed during the classes.
Students must be in the class on time. Students will not be allowed to the class, if late and
the class missed will be considered as a class missed without justification.
No talking of students with each other during the written or oral examination is allowed.
No copying of material from books or each other is allowed either. A student
disregarding this rule will leave the class and the task or the exam will be considered as
failed.
Student shall the in-class presentation and get appropriately ready for mid-term and final
exams at all times during the course.
Any attempt of plagiarism will be revealed and controlled to the maximum degree
possible. At the point of handing over the work, a student will confirm by signing a short
statement that the work handed over, prepared for the purposes of the course in original,
individual, drafted by him/her and excludes plagiarism. If this requirement is neglected,
the work/component of the course will get an automatic “0” grade.
Form of the Exam
Class attendance
In-class Presentation
Midterm Exam
Final Paper
Quantity
15
1
1
1
Assessment
15
15
30
40
Total Points
15 points
15 points
30 points
40 points
Total
100 points
Evaluation System
Indexed System of Evaluation and Indicators
Evaluation Scale
A (90%-100%)
B (81%-90%)
C (71%-80%)
D (61%-70%)
E (51%-60%)
FX (41%-50%)
F (40% and less)
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Satisfactory
Passed
Could not Pass
Failed
Points
90.45 _ 100.00
80.45 _ 90.44
70.45 _ 80.44
60.45 _ 70.44
50.45 _ 60.44
40.45 _ 50.44
0.00 _ 40.44
Academic Calendar
I week
Class/lecture
II week
Class/lecture
III week
Class/lecture
IV week
Class/lecture
V week
VI week
VII week
VIII week
3
Class/lecture
Class/lecture
IX week
Class/lecture
XIII week
Class/lecture
X week
Class/lecture
XIV week
Class/lecture
Preparatory week
for mid-term exam
XI week
Final paper proposals
XV week
Final paper discussion /
grading
Mid-term exam
XII week
Class/lecture
Calendar Plan for Classes
Time, place and
date
N
1
Week
st
Day –
Thursday
Start
19.00
Date
Finish
22.00
Auditorium
Topic for discussion, home work, reading
Introduction to the class, the content of the course, methods and assessment system, the mandatory and
supplementary readings
 Class 1. Methodology. Industrial relations in comparative perspective
Mandatory reading:

Greg J. Bamber, Russell D. Lansbury and Nick Wailes, 2004. International And Comparative
Employment Relations Globalisation And The Developed Market Economies. Allen & Unwin

Armin Falk, Ernst Fehr. (2003) Why labour market experiments?. Labour Economics 10 399–406

MARCUS TAYLOR, 2009, Who Works for Globalisation? The challenges and possibilities for
international labour studies, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp 435–452
2nd
Week
 Class 2. Industrial relations in historic perspective; USSR and Georgia
Mandatory reading:

Ralf Dahrendorf. 1959. Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society. Stanford University Press
Supplementary reading:

3rd
Week
 Class 3. The post-communist countries and their industrial relations during transition
Mandatory Reading:

Freedom of Association, Employees’ Rights and Social Dialogue in Central and Eastern Europe and the
Western Balkans. Results of a survey of 16 formerly socialist countries in Eastern Europe. Friedrich-EbertStiftung 2009
Supplementary Reading:

4th
Week
 Class 4. Work, Employment, labor statistics, trends in Georgia
Mandatory Reading:

Labour Markets And Employability. Trends And Challenges In Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia,
Moldova And Ukraine. Short Version. September 2010. European Training Foundation, 2010.
4

Georgia Labor Sector Assessment. September 2009. The Labor Sector And U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals.
USAID
Supplementary Reading:

5th
Week
 Class 5 Labor migration
Mandatory Reading:

Ali Rogers with Bridget Anderson and Nick Clark 2009 Recession, Vulnerable Workers and
Immigration: Background report

Neha Mi s ra. The Push & Pull of Globalization: How the Global Economy Makes Migrant Workers
Vulnerable to Exploitation
Supplementary Reading:

6th
Week
 Class 6. Work and employment: transforming forms and meanings
Mandatory reading:

KALLEBERG. 2000 NONSTANDARD EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS: Part-time, Temporary and
ContractWork. Annu. Rev. Sociol.. 26:341–65

Global Employment Trends 2012. Preventing a deeper jobs crisis. International Labour Organization
2012

Fiona Tregenna, 2009. Characterising deindustrialisation: An analysis of changes in manufacturing
employment and output internationally. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33, 433–466

7th
Week
Preparatory week for the mid-term exam
8th
Week
Mid-term exam
9th
Week
 Class 7. Trade Unions, business representation
Mandatory reading:

MARINA MUSKHELISHVILI, 2011, Social Dialogue in Georgia
Supplementary reading:
10th
Week
 Class 8. Globalisation, EU Assosiation and labor policies
.
5
Mandatory reading:

Sandra Polaski, 2003. Trade and Labor Standards. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Alice de Jonge 2003. Global Economic Forces and Individual Labor Rights: An Uneasy Coexistence.
Workers’ Rights as Human Rights edited by James A. Gross. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 272pp.
Supplementary reading:

11th
Week
12th
Week
 Class 9. Final papers’ proposals
Discussion about the topics chosen for the final papers
 Class 10. Social dialogue
Mandatory reading:

MARINA MUSKHELISHVILI, 2011, Social Dialogue in Georgia
Supplementary reading:

13th
Week
 Class 11 Labor code
Mandatory reading:

Supplementary reading:

14th
Week
 Class 12. Dual economy and employment
Mandatory reading:

Rita Almeida , Pedro Carneiro. 2008. Mandated Benefits, Employment, and Inequality in a Dual
Economy

http://www.geostat.ge/?action=page&p_id=142&lang=geo
Supplementary reading:

15th
Week
 Class 13. Final papers discussion
Lecturer
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//
Head of the Quality Assurance Department
.......................................................
(Date)..................
(Date)..................
/ S. Kuchukhidze/
Head of the Professorship
.......................................................
(Date)..................
Academic programs’ Director
Dean of Faculty
.......................................................
/M.
......................................................
6
Mikeladze/
(Date)..................
/Z. Maruashvili/
(Date)..................
7