Career diplomats to get higher salaries

ArmInfo. In Armenia, the  rates of salary supplements for diplomats with a class qualification  will be revised. At an extraordinary session on December 2, the RA  National Assembly Committee on State and Legal Affairs issued a  positive conclusion on the amendments to the law "On the remuneration  of persons holding state positions and civil servant positions"  submitted by the RA government. 

As Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan noted in his speech, in  the context of the constantly changing geopolitical and regional  environment in the world, the challenges facing Armenia in the face  of external threats, it is necessary to mobilize the efforts of the  country's foreign policy department both on bilateral and  international platforms. In these conditions, diplomats have found  themselves at the forefront of these challenges. To this end, as the  Deputy Minister noted, it is extremely important to prevent the  outflow of highly qualified specialists by ensuring motivation for  good work and prospects for career advancement and attracting new  personnel to the field.

Safaryan noted that currently the amount of bonuses does not  correspond to the work that diplomats do. As a result, diplomats  usually prefer to work in various international organizations or in  the private sector.  According to the current legislation, bonuses to  the salaries of diplomats with an average rank are 3%, and for a  higher rank - 1%. Bonuses are calculated based on the results of the  certification conducted by the Certification Commission of the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. At the same  time, bonuses cannot exceed 30% of the diplomats' salaries. At the  same time, the law contains exceptions for a number of diplomats who  are not subject to the requirement of an amount not exceeding 30%.  With the amendments, the amount of bonuses will be 80%. Until now,  the issue was regulated by issuing bonuses, but, as the deputy  minister noted, the problem needed to be solved in the long term. 

The bill has been deemed urgent and will be considered at the plenary  session of the National Assembly in two readings at once.