23/10/2014 21:25
Asatryan: Both working and nonworking women should get benefits
In the past four years, state budget expenditures on allowances envisaged by the Law on Temporary Disability Allowances and the Law on Welfare Payments have increased almost three-fold, Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artyom Asatryan told journalists after the government session today.
Yet, according to the minister, the birth rate remains the same, although expenditures grew.
Pregnant women and working mothers staged a protest today outside the Armenian government. They protested a 20% reduction in maternity benefits with the aim of increasing benefits for nonworking pregnant women. Protesters said the government should find other sources of finance instead of reducing working women’s maternity benefits.
“Instead of planned expenditures of 8.5 billion drams on benefits in 2014, we envisage increasing this sum to 12 billion drams in late 2014,” the minister said.
According to him, studies show that one or two months before their due date, nonworking women ask an employer to register them as an employee and later they receive money from the state budget. This is the reason why benefits grow, but the birth rate is the same, the minister noted.
“No final decisions have been taken yet. These are proposals that we are now discussing and will continue to discuss until we find an efficient solution,” A. Asatryan said.
He expressed an opinion that both working and nonworking women should receive maternity benefits because payment of benefits to nonworking women will reduce the risk of illegal registration and benefit receiving.