National Assembly Fully Adopts Amendments to the Law on Compensation for State Officials

With 56 votes in favor, 1 against, and 23 abstentions, the National Assembly has fully adopted the draft law on amendments and supplements to the "Law on Compensation for Persons Holding State Positions and State Service Positions" during its second reading.

According to Ruben Sargsyan, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, members of the National Assembly "Armenia" faction proposed an amendment, which was not accepted, as it contradicted the concept of the social package, according to the Deputy Minister.

Babken Tunyan, a member of the Civil Contract faction and the Economic Affairs Committee, also opposed the proposals presented by opposition colleagues. He stated, "The proposal raised to also reimburse consumer loans is categorically unacceptable. This means that the state provides money for a person to relax and restore their health, and we say, no, you can buy a phone and close the percentage of that phone?"

He also mentioned a proposal to increase the total volume of the social package, reminding that the current budget for the social package is 10 billion drams. "Everyone wants that amount to be larger, but if we make such proposals, we must also understand that this money always comes at the expense of another direction," Tunyan added.

Yesterday, while detailing the logic of the draft law, Heriknaz Tigranyan, Deputy Chair of the Permanent Committee on Labor and Social Affairs of the National Assembly, noted, "We are merely talking about allowing public servants who are beneficiaries of the social package to use the funds within the same amount in two other directions. No other changes are planned regarding the burden on the budget. The expansion of the circle of beneficiaries is not envisaged by this draft law. We are simply providing the opportunity for those considered beneficiaries of the social package to direct the funds not only towards mortgage payments but also to the repayment of educational loans subsidized by the state, as well as to utilize the services of sports complexes."