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.