ANPP employees protest against new pension system

More than 100 employees of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant gathered today outside the Office of Armenian Ombudsman, protesting against the introduction of the compulsory accumulative pension system in Armenia.

ANPP employees passed an application with signatures of over 700 employees to representatives of the Human Rights Defender Office.

We would remind you that the compulsory accumulative pension system was introduced in Armenia on January 1, 2014. Under the new Law on Accumulative Pensions, citizens born after 1974 have to pay 5% of salary to special accumulative funds, and another 5% is paid by the state.

Four non-coalition factions of the Armenian parliament – Prosperous Armenia, ARFD, Armenian National Congress, and Heritage factions are opposed to the compulsory component’s introduction. They applied to the Constitutional Court, asking it to recognize the new law as unconstitutional.

On January 24 the Constitutional Court suspended Article 76 part 3 and article 86 of the Law on Accumulative Pensions pending the court decision. The court hearing is scheduled for March 28, 2014.

Employees of several companies have recently held protests, demanding that employers implement the Constitutional Court’s decision. Employees of South Caucasus Railway CJSC, Alexander Spendiarian Opera and Ballet Theatre, Yerevan Metro, and Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC have joined ‘I am against compulsory accumulative pension system’ civil movement.