“An unexpected incident occurred in the Armenian parliament yesterday. At a session that was due to discuss a bill providing for salary increases for officials, it was announced that the government had decided to withdraw the bill and postpone the discussion for two months.”
Globalinfo.az reports that the Joqovurd newspaper published the information.
“Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan was due to attend to present the bill in parliament. However, at the last minute, the government changed its plans and the bill was removed from discussion. Discontent over the matter has intensified seriously within the state system itself. The point is that the bill was prepared in a short period of time. After reviewing its content, numerous employees of various state bodies realised that the salary increase they expected might not materialise. Under the bill, substantial salary increases were envisaged mainly for people holding senior positions, including ministers. Numerous employees working at the lower levels of the state system, however, would not see a significant improvement in their salaries. Thus, the following question has arisen in the state system: Why should more favourable conditions be created specifically for senior officials under the guise of raising salaries, while other employees of the system are left out of the process?”
According to the publication, the discontent also reached Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan:
“After complaints were received from various state bodies, the matter was discussed within the authorities, and it was decided to withdraw the bill on the pretext of reviewing it. However, this decision in turn caused disappointment in the state system. Some employees had hoped that salaries would increase in various bodies from January 1. Now, given that the bill has been postponed for two months, it has become seriously uncertain whether the salary increase will be implemented within the envisaged period, postponed until the following year or not happen at all.”
Aliyar Khalil
Globalinfo.az
Read also
