GeoProMining Gold asks truck drivers to stop the strike

YEREVAN, April 19. /ARKA/. The Russian company GeoProMining Gold that develops the Sotk gold mine in Armenia's Gegharkunik province, asked truck drivers to stop the strike, the company said in a statement today.

According to reports from the area, drivers of some 40 trucks blocked the road to the mine, as well as to the Sotk-Ararat railway, which is used to transport the ore from the Sotk mine to the gold recovery plant in Ararat, demanding that the employer switch from the piece rate and bonus payment scheme to fixed wages.

“The company's managers held a meeting with the strikers asking them to  stop the strike and  return to work , promising to consider their complaints and demands within the framework of the economic and administrative capabilities of the company. However, the strikers did not agree to a compromise and made an ultimatum demanding a net swage of 500,000 drams, regardless of the amount of work done, ” the company said.

GeoProMining Gold said that the strikers' complaints that they did not receive for-month wages are not substantiated as the company has no salary arrears.

'The company's management calls for an end to unauthorized strikes and is ready within the framework of a constructive dialogue, to consider ways to resolve the situation,' it said.

GeoProMining Gold said if the strike continues it  will be forced to stop the production process in Sotk and the Ararat factory and will not be able to pay for the downtime.

'The demands of the drivers run counter to the Armenian  legislation and cause significant damage to the production process of the company, the South Caucasian railway, which transports ore from Sotk to the Ararat factory, to the local communities and the budget of the country,” the statement says.

The company's management warned that the initiators of the illegal strike will be held accountable under the labor contract, labor legislation and other normative acts of the Republic of Armenia.