Labor law violations on the rise in Armenia

According to the annual report by Armenia’s Ombudsman, the labor rights of Armenian citizens are frequently violated by their employees.

The following violations were reported in Armenia last year:

– Termination of employment without just cause;

– Failure to notify an employee in advance on the termination of an employment contract within the time-frame prescribed by the labor law;

– Failure to be remunerated for their work performed during the probation period;

–  Failure to pay termination benefits.

Human rights activists noted that the list of violations is incomplete. According to a study conducted by the Helsinki Committee of Armenia (HCA), what is particularly alarming are the violations of employees’ rights in the service sector, particularly supermarkets, cafés, restaurants, clubs and taxi services.

According to Avetik Ishkhanyan, President of the HCA, people usually work without any employment contracts, they are paid on a daily basis and even if they are offered a contract, it’s just of a formal nature.

Ishkhanyan reported that the HCA hasn’t conducted similar studies in the public sector yet. However, they know for sure that employees’ labor rights have also been violated there. The attitude towards school teachers is of particular concern. School teachers are offered one-year contracts and if a school principal is unwilling to further work with any of the teachers, he simply may not extend the contract.

“Our citizens are not protected either in the public or in the private sector. Every day they fear losing their jobs,” believes Ishkhanyan.

According to the Ombudsman’s report, some violations have been exposed in the organizations that are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. In particular, certain inaccuracies in employee payroll calculations have been revealed in such organizations after complaints were filed with the Ombudsman’s office.

JAMnews previously published an article on the five most common labor law violations in Armenia.