Yerevan Municipality Allocates $974,000 in Bonuses

A new controversy surrounds bonuses distributed by the Yerevan Municipality. In 2018, the municipality allocated 474 million drams, equivalent to $974,000, for bonuses. This information comes from a written response to a query directed at Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan, as reported by Factor.am.

At the same time, the mayor has refused to provide the media with a list of the bonuses, indicating how much money was allocated to each employee.

The municipality has justified this refusal by stating that it constitutes a violation of personal data protection. Below is the response sent to Factor.am from the municipality:

“In response to your inquiry, the office of the Deputy Mayor of Yerevan, Hayk Sargsyan, informs that a total of 474,097,560 drams was allocated for monetary bonuses to the staff of the Yerevan Municipality and the heads of administrative districts of Yerevan in connection with the New Year, and a total of 1,628 employees were encouraged with monetary bonuses. It is also stated that considering point 1 of article 134 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Armenia, as well as point 1 of article 26 of the Law on Personal Data Protection of the Republic of Armenia, and in light of the requirements for the protection of personal data by the employer when transferring such data, the Yerevan Municipality has currently contacted the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, and after receiving the necessary clarifications regarding the legal regulations related to the transfer of personal data to third parties, you will be informed further.”

Gevorg Hayrapetyan, the head of the Personal Data Protection Agency of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, responded to Factor.am, stating that this is considered personal data and can only be provided to third parties with the written consent of the employee.

Read the full article here: factor.am