Armenia to have legislative framework to protect rights of volunteers

YEREVAN, May 10. /ARKA/. To protect the rights of volunteers, organizations in Armenia will be required to sign contracts with them, otherwise employers could be fined 250 thousand drams, Deputy Labor and Social Issues Minister Ruben Sarkisyan said on Wednesday, speaking at parliamentary hearings initiated by the parliamentary committee on labor and social issues.

Currently, Armenia has no unified, comprehensive regulation that establishes common norms for volunteering. According to the deputy minister, the contracts would specify the terms and details of volunteering, as well as the guarantees for volunteers

"It's practically the first time such a law will be adopted in our country," said the deputy minister.

According to him, there are about 124 state agencies in the country which have the right to use volunteer services. All of them will be obliged to sign employment contracts with volunteers.  

The contracts are to specify such issues as compensation for travel, overnight stays, meals, and so on.

Thus, the involvement in various volunteer movements will allow the participant to accumulate experience for subsequent employment. All this, as Sargsyan assured, will be taken into account.  

"Without contracts involving volunteers will simply become impossible," the deputy minister noted.  

Any person over 16 years old can become a volunteer, however, volunteering for such activities as medicine, economy, legal and some other areas will require specialized education or an appropriate certificate. -0-