Author: Babken Chilingarian

                                        Friday, May 1, 2020

Pashinian Urges End To Unregistered Labor

        • Sargis Harutyunyan

Armenia - Workers at a new brewery in Dilijan, 21Nov2017.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Friday urged Armenians working off the books 
to press their employers to register their jobs with tax authorities, saying 
that this is essential for protecting their labor rights.

In a May Day statement, Pashinian also argued that his government finds it 
difficult to help unregistered workers hit hard by the economic shutdown 
resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our anti-crisis programs first of all target those people and companies that 
have complied with the Labor Code and the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia,” 
he said. “We have thereby not only honored our working citizens but also taken 
advantage of the fact that it is easier to identify registered workers if they 
lose their jobs and need assistance during the crisis.”

“Having a registered job is an important guarantee for the protection of 
worker’s rights, and I call on all employed citizens to demand that their 
employers register their jobs and support the government in protecting their own 
labor rights,” added Pashinian.

Many people have for decades been involved in the informal sector of Armenia’s 
sector. Employers had not registered those workers in order to avoid paying 
their income and pension taxes.

Official statistics suggest that the number of such workers has fallen 
significantly since Pashinian came to power and pledged a tough crackdown on tax 
evasion two years ago. According the State Revenue Committee (SRC), private 
entities have reported more than 87,000 new jobs to the tax service from May 
2018 through December 2019. Most of these jobs are believed to have been created 
before that period.

The number of unregistered workers -- and day laborers in particular -- 
apparently remains high as evidenced by public reactions to recent government 
decisions to compensate people who have temporarily or permanently lost their 
jobs due to the coronavirus lockdown. The government has faced many complaints 
about compensating only officially registered workers.

Heriknaz Tigranian, a parliament deputy from the ruling My Step bloc, 
acknowledged on Friday the broader protection of labor rights in Armenia is 
still weak. She singled out the arbitrary dismissal of workers, saying that it 
remains widespread.

Tigranian criticized the former Armenian government for dissolving the State 
Labor Inspectorate, which was supposed to ensure such protection, in 2013. She 
said that decision should be offset by amendments to the Labor Code passed by 
the Armenian parliament late last year.

The amendments expanded the powers of another, existing government agency, the 
Health and Labor Inspectorate. Starting from July 2021, it will be tasked with 
not only ensuring the physical safety of workers but also protecting their 
social rights.




Armenia To Largely End Coronavirus Lockdown On May 4

        • Naira Nalbandian

Armenia -- A police officer enforcing a coronavirus lockdown checks a woman's 
documents, Yerevan, March 25, 2020.

The government announced on Friday that it will lift remaining restrictions on 
people’s movements and allow the vast majority of businesses, including many 
cafes and restaurants, to resume their work on Monday despite the continuing 
spread of coronavirus in Armenia.

Government officials stressed at the same time that employers will have to abide 
by social distancing and hygiene rules set by the Armenian Ministry of Health.

According to Deputy Economy Minister Varos Simonian, the government’s decision 
covers all types of manufacturing, services such as hairdressing and cleaning as 
well as retail and wholesale trade carried out outside shopping malls. Those 
cafes and restaurants that have outdoor areas will also be allowed to reopen.

Simonian also said that starting from May 4 Armenians will no longer have to 
carry passports and fill out special forms specifying their reasons to leave 
their homes.

He confirmed that the government will keep in place for now its ban on municipal 
public transport in Yerevan and other cities and towns. “Public transport is a 
very risky type of economic activity which allows the virus to spread very 
quickly,” explained the official.

Other government officials made clear earlier this week that all Armenian 
universities and schools will remain closed until the end of the current 
academic year. Virtually all of them switched to online courses after the 
nationwide lockdown imposed in late March.


Armenia -- An empty street cafe in Yerevan, March 15, 2020.

“This can be regarded as a sort of test,” Simonian said of the government’s 
decision to largely end the lockdown. “While we are easing the restrictions 
everyone, both citizens and businesses, must display a strong discipline and 
consciousness.”

“Depending on that, we will decide whether to maintain the mild restrictions 
regime or to revert to tougher restrictions,” he told a joint news conference 
with Deputy Health Minister Lena Nanushian.

Nanushian said, for her part, that the Ministry of Health has set specific 
coronavirus-related safety rules for companies and other entities resuming their 
work. “The requirements are pretty much the same [for everyone]: to ensure a 
physical distance of one or two meters between employees and customers and to 
take various hygiene measures, including disinfection and ventilation [of 
premises,]” she said.

The lockdown significantly slowed the spread of the virus in Armenia already at 
the beginning of April. The government began gradually reopening the Armenian 
economy on April 13. The Ministry of Health has registered increased daily 
numbers of COVID-19 cases since April 21.

The number of new confirmed cases hit a record high of 134 on Thursday. Deputy 
Prime Minister Tigran Avinian said during a cabinet meeting that the authorities 
will reverse the reopening process if it leads to “dangerous consequences” in 
the coming days or weeks.

The authorities reported on Friday morning that 82 more people tested positive 
for the virus in the past day, bringing the total number of infections to 2,148. 
They also reported another fatality which raised the country’s death toll from 
COVID-19 to 33.

The spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, Alina Nikoghosian, said the latest 
victim was aged 27 and suffered from other “lifelong chronic diseases.”


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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