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As a result of the 12-day protest at Armenia’s Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC), the management dismissed eight employees coordinating the strike, claiming they were being influenced by external forces. Was the protest orchestrated, or was it a spontaneous movement driven by the legitimate demands of the employees? Ellen Manaseryan, President of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia, shared her views on the matters in an interview with Panorama.am.

Below are key takeaways from the interview:

▪ I want to take this opportunity to urge everyone not to spread misinformation. After I wrote that the strike at ZCMC had ended, some people immediately claimed that the eight dismissed employees had been reinstated. That is not true. I ask you not to spread false information.

▪ The reinstatement of the eight dismissed ZCMC employees is not something that can happen in an instant, and I believe they understand that very well.

▪ When we asked ZCMC employees, they stated that no one had directed them and it was solely a labor dispute. I have both reasons to believe this and reasons to doubt it, as I do not have direct information on the matter. If the employer makes such a claim, he must have his reasons.

▪ The Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia has consistently opposed an increase in public transportat fares.

▪ When the 2025 state budget presented by the government includes no provisions for wage increases, yet prices continue to rise, the fundamental principles of a social state are completely undermined.

▪ What happens to the concept of a social state when we are dealing with high inflation, a lack of wage indexation and such economic conditions?

▪ A minimum standard of living should not be based on the consumer basket currently proposed by the government, which includes certain food items but fails to account for utility bills, childcare expenses, clothing and education costs.

▪ Can anyone survive on this amount for even a month, especially in winter, when utility bills are high and additional expenses like property tax, waste disposal fees and transport fares must be covered? Of course not.

▪ Our proposal is to first ensure decent wages before considering any price increases.

▪ It is unacceptable to base minimum wage adjustments solely on available funds, raising it to 75,000 drams today simply because that’s feasible and to 80,000 drams tomorrow if possible. This has been the approach so far, but there has never been a solid calculation behind it.