Participant's Salary During Military Drills Will Be Preserved: Who Will Pay?

The government approved the draft law on "Amendments to the Labor Code of the Republic of Armenia" and deemed it urgent. The draft aims to clarify the relationships regarding the preservation of the salary of reservists who are called to and work during military drills.

According to the current regulations, both in the public and private sectors, employers are not obliged to pay the salary of employees participating in military drills; it is only stipulated that during this time, the citizen's job position and workplace are preserved,” said Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan.

According to the existing regulations, in compliance with the Law on “Military Service and the Status of Servicemen,” during military drills, citizens are paid the official salary specified for the assigned military position. The draft now proposes that during the recruitment for drills, employers must pay the employee's basic salary for each working day and at least the positive difference between this salary and the calculated monetary provision as a serviceman for a period of up to 30 days.

“For example, if an employee's basic salary is 200,000 drams and they receive 80,000 drams from the Ministry of Defense for participating in military drills, the employer is obliged to pay the remaining part, which is at least 120,000 drams,” the minister elaborated.

According to him, the proposed regulation will allow for the full preservation of salaries for employees involved in military drills. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also stated that this draft is very necessary.

“The state certainly has established payments for participants in military drills, but these are sometimes lower than the salaries that people receive. Now, taking the opportunity that we have turned three months into one month, we are establishing that when the payment made to the participant of military drills is less than their salary, the difference must be paid by the employer,” noted the Prime Minister.

He mentioned that when implementing the plan for military drills, a certain percentage of employees from the same institution should not be invited to participate to avoid an disproportionate burden on the institutions.

“I am very pleased that we are making this regulation and I hope that our colleagues in the National Assembly will adopt this regulation as soon as possible, and the President of Armenia will sign it as well,” added Nikol Pashinyan.