On 29 January 2019, the meeting with stakeholders was held in the scope of the “Monitoring of Workers’ Rights Protection” project. The project is implemented in the scope of a sub-grant allocated in the scope of a sub-grant allocated by the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project funded by the European Union.
State, non-governmental and international organisations and experts from the sector participated in the meeting. The topic enjoys huge interest in the public: The sectoral problems amassed over the years are more than relevant nowadays which was also proven in this active and dynamic meeting.
It is planned in the scope of the project to carry out analysis and monitoring of the working conditions of a vulnerable group of people working in the field of trade, the de facto and de jure relations with employers so that the problems in the sector are covered through proven and valid facts. The meeting of stakeholders had an important meaning for this project as the problems that seemed simple at first sight in reality require not as simple solutions. At the moment, the concrete executive body to fully deal with protection of workers’ rights is in fact lacking in the RA. Restoration of the rights violated in court is not easily accessible and is costly.
Mentors Group Coordinator of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project Marat Atovmyan gave a welcome speech at the meeting. The organisers presented the project components, as follows:
1․ Study of the mechanisms for applying the existing workers’ rights protection laws for workers of network stores and supermarkets;
2․ Study of the functions of fulfilling the international obligations on workers’ rights assumed by the RA;
3․ Development of efficient mechanisms for workers’ rights protection and application of oversight tools.
The situation of the sector was presented. The organisation has been working in this field for some years, trying to give separate solutions to concrete cases which, however, can’t be a sufficient solution. The social survey methodology was presented. The project sociologist introduced tools for carrying out objective survey which will limit the possible result errors to the minimum.
Boris Kharatyan, the Deputy Chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia, who was present at the meeting, presented the principles of the work of condominia, the objective and subjective difficulties in their work in the context of workers’ right protection.
In reality, this institution that has quite a big professional expert potential is also limited in its actions and is no longer an actor in protection of workers’ rights.
Hayk Ayvazyan, the Head of the office coordinating the work of inspection bodies of the RA Prime Minister’s Office, also attended the meeting. He also stressed the importance of the project and expressed his willingness to support it. Mr. Ayvazyan pointed out the negative sides of the activities of the former labour inspection which most participants agreed with.
The discussion of the topic of creating a new, more efficient institution proposed by the discussion participants, was a disputable question. Marianna Avdalyan, a representative from the International Labour Organisation, was also present at the meeting. She presented the ILO conventions ratified by Armenia, guarantees of their work and the projects implemented by ILO. Certified international experts, representatives from the businessmen’s union, members and volunteers of the organisation attended the event. The meeting initially planned for two hours actually lasted three hours. It went with active discussions, debates, as well as agreements for upcoming cooperation.
