Monday, July 22 2019 13:59

ArmInfo."I am deeply convinced that the issue of the Agarak Copper-Molybdenum Combine in the trilateral format will be resolved, and this will be an example for  the entire mining industry in Armenia," Eduard Pahlevanyan, chairman  of Branch Union of Trade Union Organizations of Miners, Metallurgists  & Jewellers of the Republic of Armenia, told ArmInfo in an interview.

To recall, according to the official report of GeoProMining, the work  of the plant was suspended from July 3 of this year when the  employees of the technological transport department refused to attend  work, which caused the suspension of production. The transport  department employees of the combine made demands for the payment of  additional funds not provided for by bilateral agreements.

According to Pakhlevanyan, the tripartite commission was set up to  settle the dispute, which included representatives of the government,  the company's management and the trade union, and at the first  meeting, held on July 17, out of the 38 issues submitted, 16 were  already considered. According to Pahlevanyan, the commission is given  a month to resolve the current situation, however, the time limit can  be extended in case there are issues requiring a longer time to study  and resolve.

The combine, as the expert noted, is already working in full, without  any failures, the employees are fulfilling their labor obligations,  and in the meantime the administration is carefully studying and  solving the tasks outlined. "In any case, the fact that this problem  will be solved in a trilateral format is definitely a positive  beginning," he concluded.  To recall, on July 10, GeoProMining  appealed to the Armenian government to establish a multilateral  commission from the competent authorities to resolve the situation at  the Agarak Copper-Molybdenum Combine.  Because of suspension of the  plant operation, the local community and state budgets of Armenia  began to incur significant losses. The leadership of the Agarak Plant  also called on the lawmakers of the Armenian Parliament to refrain  from emotional and baseless accusations against the company and said  that the plant fulfills all obligations to the staff, local budget  and state budget of Armenia in full and accordingly 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.  It should be noted that the Agarak  Copper-Molybdenum Combine is included in the "Armenian" portfolio of  assets of the diversified international group of mining companies  GeoProMining. 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  the development of the Agarak Combine. 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 VAT. In 2019, the Combine  planned to pay to the RA budget about $ 12 million, including VAT  payments.  According to the results of activity, according to  official data, GeoProMining group of companies has invested more than  $ 505 million in the Armenian economy over the 10 year period.