President of GeoProMining Roman Khudoliy: All issues should be  resolved within the framework of RA legislation

ArmInfo. A diversified international group of mining companies GeoProMining informs about meetings of the company's management with employees who are  conducting an illegal strike, which led to the suspension of the  Agarak Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ACMC).

According to the press service of GeoProMining, the management of the  company listened to all the demands and complaints of employees, and  made a response proposal to form a working commission to review the  demands of the representatives of the plant's staff and resolve the  situation. The commission will consist of employees of the plant,  trade union leadership, lawyers, industry experts, representatives of  local authorities, the competent bodies of the government and the  Armenian parliament.

The commission planned for the organization will consider all  proposals from the collective regarding their legal validity, as well  as their compliance with the requirements of the RA legislation. "The  management of the company is ready for an open and constructive  dialogue, on the basis of which this situation should be resolved,  not proceeding from the interests of any parties. All issues should  be resolved within the framework of the RA legislation. I also  consider it necessary to exclude in the future those emotional and  statements that do not correspond to reality, which do not contribute  to resolving this situation, "said Roman Khudoliy.

To recall, on July 10, GeoProMining appealed to the Armenian  government to create a multilateral commission from the competent  authorities to resolve the situation at the Agarak Copper- Molybdenum  Combine. The statement noted, that the work of the plant was  suspended from July 3 this year due to the non-hiring of employees of  the technological transport department, which resulted in the  paralysis of production. The fact is that the employees of the plant  that violated the labor contracts presented unreasonable demands for  the payment of additional funds not provided for by bilateral  contracts.  Due to the halt of production of the plant, the local  community and state budgets of Armenia incur significant material  losses.The leadership of the Agarak plant also calls on the MPs of  the Armenian parliament to refrain from emotional and baseless  accusations against the company and reports that the plant fulfills  all obligations to the staff, local budget and state budget of  Armenia in full and with its obligations and legislation of the  Republic of Armenia. In particular, the plant fulfills its  obligations in terms of wages, overtime payments and additional cash  rewards. The plant never had wage arrears and always fulfilled its  obligations stipulated by the employment contract and the RA  legislation. GeoProMining, being one of the largest investors in the  Armenian economy, calls on state bodies to form a multilateral  commission from the competent government bodies in order to  objectively study the current situation and find ways to resolve it.   To note, the Agarak Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ACMC )is included in  the <Armenian> asset portfolio of the GeoProMining diversified  international group of mining companies. The plant is located in the  south of Armenia, on the border with Iran, and is the largest  industrial facility in the Meghri region. Since 2007, the Company has  invested $ 79 million in investments in the development of ACMC.   Currently 1040 people work at the Agarak plant. The average salary of  workers and engineering staff (excluding management) is 340,000 drams  (more than 700 US dollars).  From 2008 to 2018, the "Agarak  Copper-Molybdenum Combine" CJSC paid taxes and fees in the amount of  $ 121.9 million to the state budget of the Republic of Armenia,  including payments for VAT. In 2019, ACMC planned to pay to the RA  budget about $ 12 million, including VAT payments.  According to the  results of activity, the GeoProMining company, according to official  data, has invested over $ 505 million in the Armenian economy over a  10-year period.