How Much Were MPs and the Staff of the National Assembly Awarded on September 21?

The members of the National Assembly were awarded 75% of their official salary scale in honor of the 30th anniversary of Armenia's independence, while the 503 employees of the National Assembly's staff received 100% of their official salary scale, reports Hetq.

The National Assembly staff declined to disclose the total amount of the parliament's bonuses, citing that information about an employee's bonus amount is personal data and requires consent for disclosure. Our observation that most of the staff members file income declarations with the Anti-Corruption Committee, and that these data will be made public next year, proved unproductive. Additionally, we requested information on the total amount of bonuses without identifying employees, which should not be kept secret.

We calculated for ourselves how much the bonuses for the MPs and the NA President's staff would approximately amount to. The salaries of the MPs are calculated based on the law “On the Remuneration of Individuals Holding Public Office.” There is a basic salary (66,140 AMD), which is multiplied by the appropriate coefficient. Depending on their status, the salaries of MPs vary. The 75% salary scale for an MP amounts to 496,000 AMD (including taxes).

The parliament has 12 permanent committees, each with one president and one vice-president, totaling 23 (the defense committee currently does not have a vice-president). Those holding these positions, as well as the NA President and his three vice-presidents, receive different salaries than regular MPs. Thus, 27 persons receive salaries that differ from others. Each of the 80 MPs received a bonus of 496,000 AMD, accumulating to a total of 39 million AMD.

The 75% salary scale for the committee chairpersons is 595,000 AMD, with the total bonuses for 12 chairpersons amounting to 7 million 140 thousand AMD. The 75% salary scale for the vice-chairperson of a permanent committee is 694,000 AMD, and the total bonuses for 11 vice-chairpersons amount to 7 million 630,000 AMD. Therefore, only the 12 committee chairpersons and the 11 vice-chairpersons were awarded a total of 14 million 630 thousand AMD.

The 75% salary for the NA vice-presidents is 694,000 AMD. The total bonuses for vice-presidents Ruben Rubinyan, Hakob Arshakyan, and Ishkhan Saghatelyan (the opposition party has announced intentions to donate these amounts to charity) sum up to 2 million AMD.

The salary of the NA President Alen Simonyan is 1 million 190 thousand AMD, which is the second highest salary in the country after the President (the Prime Minister also has the same salary). Alen Simonyan was awarded 890,000 AMD for the 30th anniversary of independence.

There are 8 persons working in the NA President's office: 2 advisers, 3 assistants, 1 referent, and 1 press secretary. Since the staff was awarded at a 100% rate, we calculated their bonuses based on their salary. The two advisors were paid 1 million 250 thousand, 3 assistants received 1 million 580 thousand AMD, the press secretary got 529 thousand, and the referent received 396 thousand. The total amount of bonuses in Alen Simonyan's office amounted to 3 million 755 thousand AMD.

Overall, the bonuses for the MPs and the NA President's office exceeded 60 million AMD. Details are available on the website.