Armenia to change benefit system with pilot project in two regions
YEREVAN, January 9. /ARKA/. At a meeting on Thursday, the Armenian government adopted a package of legislative amendments concerning the assessment of citizens' welfare and the methodology for providing benefits. Specifically, the draft proposes replacing family benefits with insecurity benefits, which will be set at the level of the minimum consumer basket, or 34,000 drams.
Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan noted that when a benefit application is received, the possibility of employment for the citizen will be considered first, with the issue of applying for benefits considered afterward.
For 12 months after finding employment, the family’s income will not be factored in, and they will not be removed from the list of benefit recipients.
If an able-bodied person refuses to work, it will be assumed that the family has income at least equal to the minimum consumer basket. In this case, the attributed income will increase by 10,000 drams monthly until it reaches the size of the consumer basket. Afterward, the benefit recipient will be removed from the system.
The minister emphasized that this program aims to overcome extreme poverty, which triggered a strong reaction from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
“If you are able to work, you must overcome poverty through your own labor. If you refuse to work, then poverty is your choice... This is social deformation. We are diminishing respect for labor and devaluing workers. We must help them obtain education, retrain, and find a profession. We must assist them in securing a job in the labor market. If not, the poor remain poor—this is their problem. Who said that we are responsible? They are responsible for their poverty,” said the prime minister.
He also criticized his own government for indecisiveness in addressing the reduction of benefits, which, according to him, are not targeted properly and are being given to people who already have wealth.
In response, Mkrtchyan added that if a family refuses to provide an education for their child, applications for benefits will not be accepted. ($1 = 396.47 drams)
