Minors in Armenia to be granted right to official employment
YEREVAN, May 4. /ARКА/. Armenia's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is drafting a set of changes to the relevant law that will grant minor citizens, who have turned 14 years old, the right to official employment, Zhora Sargsyan, head of the employment and labor department of the ministry, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
He said the consent of parents or guardians will be required for minors to get a job. The employment contract will be drawn up between the employer and the parents or the guardian of the minor, Sargsyan said, stressing that this practice is fairly widespread in the world.
He said under another proposed legislative change, a woman with a child under 1.5 years old will have the right to work part-time. Also, breastfeeding mothers will have the opportunity to use their work break -a total of 90 minutes- for feeding the baby.
Among other key changes, Sargsyan mentioned the specification of the rights of employers and employees. So, according to the proposed changes, people of retirement age are allowed to conclude an open-ended employment contract with the employer. The changes also provide for the right to announce a strike if 50% of employees agree to do so.
“This gives workers the opportunity to defend their rights and go on strike if there are direct violations by the management,” Sargsyan explained.
He said also under the proposed changes the employer will have the right to assess professional skills of a worker. In case of non-compliance the employer will have the right to terminate the employment contract.
The changes also establish that if an employee has not used his annual leave for 2.5 years, the employer has the right to send him on vacation without an application. Otherwise, a fine of 0.15% of the average per day wage is to be imposed. Employees called to work on a weekend have the right to request additional pay or additional time off.
In addition, the new changes require the inclusion of a specific number of working hours into the labor contract, as well as the exact amount of wages. - 0--
