On 27 June, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the OxYGen Foundation, organized a public discussion on the Labor Code of the Republic of Armenia, which took place at “Mozart” Hall of “Opera Suite” Hotel. Mr. Arman Udumyan, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Mr. Tigran Khachikyan, RA Deputy Minister of Justice, MPs, representatives of international and non-governmental organizations, among them Ms Mariam Zadoyan, expert at the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, attended the discussion.
The objectives of the discussion were to present the proposed amendments and additions to the RA Labor Code and to identify and address issues related to labor rights by stakeholders.
The discussion was held within the frameworks of joint public awareness campaigns.
During the presentation, RA Deputy Minister of Justice Tigran Khachikyan expressed an opinion that it is possible to talk about a completely new, working code of the RA.
Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arman Udumyan expressed willingness to create a multi-task working group aimed at improving the labor legislation of Armenia. In this regard, Mariam Zadoyan mentioned that a year ago, under the financial support of the European Union, the Government-Civil Society Dialogue Conference “Current State of Trade Unions, Prospects for Development” was organized within the framework of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” Project. About 50 proposals were submitted to the Government and the National Assembly, and that first recommendation was addressed to the creation of the above mentioned working group, so the attempt to implement this recommendation even almost a year later is positively estimated,
In addition, Mariam Zadoyan raised the issue of expanding the functions of the State Labor Inspectorate, the recovery of trade unions, as well as the practical implementation of the principle of equal pay for equal work, and the practical mechanisms for the prevention of women from sexual harassment at work place.
