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Workers of Yerevan-based Nairit chemical plant staged today a protest outside the Armenian parliament while the results of a study on the plant’s further operation and its technical and financial viability were being discussed in the parliament.

Anush Harutyunyan, a member of the group coordinating protests of Nairit workers, told reporters that they are sure that like the two previous audits, the parliamentary hearings on Nairit’s problems will also be of ‘a formal nature’. Another cause of discontent is that plant specialists are not participating in discussions.

She said that 400 workers of the plant have received their back wages. She reiterated that they will again hold protests and actions of civil disobedience if back wages are not paid to all workers by July 29-30.

As was reported, on June 9 Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan received a group of Nairit Plant’s workers. He said that during the consultation held by the Armenian president, it was decided to find financial resources to pay Nairit staff’s back wages for recent years. The PM said that Energy Minister Yervand Zakharyan was instructed to set up a commission for calculating the wages and that the debt would be repaid by July 15.

After a series of protests, Nairit workers on July 17 gathered outside the Armenian government to demand full repayment of their back wages. Anush Harutyunyan told Panorama.am at that time that they decided to wait until July 28-29 when back wages were expected to be paid. Meanwhile, they would sign agreements on a waiver of fines that are paid in case of wage arrears, she said. The plant workers demanded that their debts be paid off in a lump sum within 1-2 days.

Since late 2014 Nairit Plant workers have staged protests which are supported by some Armenian political forces. They demand repayment of their back wages for the last 4 years – a sum of 5.7 billion drams. On February 6, 2015 the plant announced 1700 lay-offs.