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Unemployment crisis – whole stratum of Armenians depends on relatives abroad

7 March 2018 18:15 (UTC+04:00)
Unemployment crisis – whole stratum of Armenians depends on relatives abroad

By Rashid Shirinov

It is no secret that today there is a terrible situation with unemployment in Armenia. It is one of the factors that lead to the very problematic demographic situation in the country.

Armenia’s population has long realized that President Sargsyan and his team do practically nothing to ease the life of ordinary people. The situation has reached such a point that many Armenian men have to live and work in other countries whereas their families remain in Armenia.

This is quite understandable – the economy of Armenia is replenished by transfers. Those who are dissatisfied with life in Armenia, those who cannot find a decent job in their homeland, leave for other countries – mainly in Russia – and monthly send money to their families in Armenia.

American actor of Armenian origin Levon Sharafyan recognized in his recent interview with 1in.am that in Armenia there is a whole stratum of people leading a dependent life, who are waiting for their relatives from abroad to send $200-$300 every month.

As for those who stay in Armenia and work there, their salaries are mainly low, and there is no social protection for these people. The Armenian media often write about employers’ refusal to pay salaries to their employees or multi-month delays in their payment.

For example, the former employees of the liquidated clothing factory Continent Text, which operated under the Armenian police, demand payment of their eight-month wages, and this continues for five years already. Moreover, some employees of the factory were injured at work, but the company did not pay the compensation. There are many such cases throughout Armenia.

“Business culture in Armenia is at a very low level, since business in the country was developed by people who were bad at this – former managers of USSR large enterprises, factories, as well as servicemen, people who fought in Karabakh and criminal elements,” Gagik Makaryan, chairman of the Union of Employers of Armenia, told Armenian media.

These are the very reason why Armenians opt to leave their homeland. People want to work in a country where their work would be valued, where they would see respect from the employers. Today’s Armenia still cannot provide the population with this.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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