Officials from Ministry of Labour hold protest action in Armenia

Employees of the State Social Care Service of the Ministry of Labour and Social Matters Affairs have organized a protest action in Yerevan, in front of the building of the government, against mass layoff.

From January 1, 2011, the Government of Armenia plans to close the payment service of the office of the State Social Care Service, as a result of which 300 employees will lose jobs. The cashiers-inspectors of the service first held a protest action outside their office, and then marched to the presidential residence; they handed over their letter to the president and continued their rally in front of the governmental building, demanding to have the decision revised.

"I'm the only breadwinner in the family, I'm Category II invalid, and I rent my housing. All the others are in the same situation. And here, we've received this present on the eve of the New Year," the "Armenia Today" quotes one of the women-employees.

All the protesters are members of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia; they state with indignation that they will tear their membership cards into pieces. "At one night they needed that 300 persons become members of the Republican Party; and today these 300 persons are of no need in the Party; they are throw out into the street," said one of cashiers-inspectors and added that these 300 persons brought other 900 persons into the Party - family members or other relatives. "We were forced to collect votes for the Republican Party; otherwise they threatened to sack us; and today with one stroke of a pen all are thrown out into the street," another woman said.