AGENCY SCANDAL: Employment Agency Continues Deceit Under New Name

Months ago, hetq.am reported on the blatant fraud and deception being practiced by the employment agency. According to the report, the private employment agency 'Zatik' posts alluring advertisements for job vacancies on its Facebook page. The job offers from the company typically have age restrictions and boast notably high salaries.

The director of the 'Zatik' private recruitment center, Shushanik Nersisyana, meets with applicants and presents the offered job, but not in detail, as she does not disclose the address and name of the workplace or the organization for which she is filling out the application for the citizen who approached her.

According to the contract, the agency is obliged to offer the client vacant positions based on their professional data and wishes. However, the applicant is required to make a one-time, non-refundable payment of 5000 drams for using the agency's services, as stated in section 2.3.1 of the contract. Section 2.2.1 indicates that the contract becomes effective from the time of signing for a duration of 6 months.

During this process, the director tells citizens not to contact her, as once she prepares and sends the application to the employer, the employer will personally get in touch with the job seeker. A week after registering at the agency, when citizens do not receive any calls from any organization, they call the agency to understand the reason for the lack of news. The agency manipulates the applicants and takes the 5000 dram fee, but the applicants do not receive any job offers or calls from potential employers.

It is worth noting that contacting the agency is not easy, as Shushanik often becomes rude and blocks the caller's number once she realizes the caller is a job-seeking client.

Auroranews conducted a study regarding the compliance of the currently operating agency with the previously published article. Following the Facebook posts of 'Zatik' private recruitment center director Shushanik Nersisyana, we discovered that the agency has changed its name and is now operating under the name 'Work' ('Աշխատանք'), but this rebranding has not led to any changes in the agency's modus operandi.

We spoke with Sona Martirosyan, the head of the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, who confirmed that the ministry does not regulate the activities of private employment agencies and added that she cannot say anything promising about the situation.

In our research, we found numerous Facebook posts where citizens voiced their dissatisfaction with the agency's operational methods. The 'Work' Facebook page continues to publish similar announcements and operates under the same previous methods.

We contacted one of the dissatisfied citizens, Sirarpi Gevorgyan, who shared with us that a considerable amount of time has passed since her application and declaration, yet she has not received any job offers. 'It’s a blatant scam, and I am amazed that they continue to operate illegally,' Sirarpi Gevorgyan said in our conversation.

It is astonishing that after so many complaints from citizens, the organization continues to operate, and law enforcement has not intervened to halt their activities.

Gemma Sardarayan