Approximately Ten Thousand Citizens to Be Laid Off in Armenia: Elinar Vardanyan

Elinar Vardanyan, a member of the 'Alternative Projects' group, wrote on her Facebook page:

“In the near future, approximately ten thousand citizens are expected to be laid off in Armenia. These are citizens who do not create 'Added Value.' This formulation was made in correspondence between the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance. Even if ten thousand citizens of Armenia who do not create added value suffer as a result of optimization and become unemployed, Armenian statehood benefits from this. The policy of optimization is not inherently a negative phenomenon.

In developed European countries, optimization is also encountered, but they do it calculatedly, taking into account the requirements of the Revised European Social Charter to consult on ways and means to mitigate its effects, such as addressing associated social measures aimed at helping those employees find new jobs or retraining.

It is unfortunate that the idea of optimization has shifted from the optimization of structures to the personal sphere, gradually turning into assessments of people’s work and personal qualities—‘the presence of such officials poses a much greater danger to society than the potential risks resulting from their dismissal.’ Here we are talking about ten thousand citizens of Armenia. Citizens who are part of the state and statehood. Citizens to whom the authorities have obligations, especially when they assured them that they are the owners of this country. Citizens who should be remembered not only during elections when casting votes. When making decisions about their quality of life, the right to deserve that vote must be earned. In the end, the authorities are not just for their own team and close ones but for every citizen of Armenia.

Let us acknowledge a fact: this is not only about ten thousand individuals but ten thousand families. And all this is by no means a populist statement. Instead of the proclaimed principle of ‘From Benefits to Work and Wages’ for overcoming poverty, this approach will actually operate on the direct opposite principle of ‘From Work to Benefits, Unemployment.’

From the public's perspective, all this may seem understandable and pleasant, and politically advantageous for those in power. However, this is only at first glance and is apparent. Poorly calculated steps can lead to increased social tension and rising unemployment, which will contribute to the reduction of the state’s positive social obligations and the increased risks of their effectiveness. The dissolution of state organizations or their individual subdivisions, ultimately the reduction of positions, should be carried out as a result of in-depth analyses, calculations, and forecasts.

These calculations should not be determined by individual characteristics but should stem from the effectiveness of sector regulation. Even if the specific reduction of a position is highly justified in terms of economic efficiency and inevitable, it must follow the implementation of a clear and ambitious economic policy on the part of the state aimed at creating jobs. One of the justifications, that some of these people are lawyers and accountants and ‘those people will not be unemployed’ or perhaps will find better jobs, speaks to the fact that the state is freeing itself from positive social obligations toward these people. And what has been done to implement job creation policies for them? If such opportunities were created, those people would leave the public system themselves.

No one dreams of working in a public service job with a low salary, what’s more, to be called a bureaucrat. But at this moment, these people have no alternative because the necessary conditions have not been created. Therefore, along with assessing economic efficiency, it would be good to evaluate the work done towards creating alternatives for these individuals. After all, beyond talking, action must be taken.”