Officials' salary increase by Pashinyan triggers criticism

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, has increased salaries of some top-ranking officials, but this measure was not discussed in the parliament or by the public. Rights defenders and lawyers have criticized the Premier for making the decision in secrecy.

On October 21, the "Hetq" online edition wrote that Nikol Pashinyan had secretly raised salaries of his senior officials.

According to the edition, from May to August, the ministers for emergencies and the environment of Armenia received total salaries of six million drams (more than USD 12,500), that is, their monthly salary made 1.5 million drams (more than USD 3000).

The "Hetq" asked Pashinyan for clarification. The response of the Armen Khachatryan, the head of the Information and PR Division of the Premier's Office, states that "the issue raised by the edition ... was based on a secret procedure, and, accordingly, is not subject to publicity."

Daniel Ionnisyan, the coordinator of the "Union of Informed Citizens" programmes, has noted that "raising salaries secretly is a shame and a significant law violation."

According to Arthur Sakunts, a rights defender and the head of the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, there can be no excuse for the Pashinyan's secret order.

The rights defender believes that it is necessary to publish this Premier's decision and give explanations thereto.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 24, 2019 at 04:49 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.