ArmInfo. In certain situations, the use of strict measures is the only option to solve the problem. Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan said this in an interview with public television, commenting on the strike of public transport drivers and the dismissal of 32 workers in this sector.
According to Avinyan, it is important to understand in which area and how the strike is taking place. He emphasized that in areas such as public transport and healthcare, there are legislative norms requiring 14- day advance notice of strikes.
Speaking about why the mayor's office called this a blackmail method, Avinyan noted that work is underway on all the issues raised. Thus, according to him, some problems have already been resolved, while others are in the process of being resolved. "In a situation where the strike was warned 10 hours in advance and received the support of certain opposition deputies, it is difficult to call these actions anything other than blackmail," Avinyan explained.
At the same time, the head of the capital's municipality emphasized that democracy does not imply permissiveness, but means the rule of law. He assured that the mayor's office is doing everything possible to protect the rights of drivers and solve their problems. However, according to him, there is a serious contradiction between democracy and permissiveness. In this regard, he decided to give an example with doctors: "If doctors decide not to operate on patients on the same day, this will become a serious problem. The same applies to bus service," Avinyan added.
Touching on overtime payments, Avinyan said that according to the current legislation, they will be implemented from 2025. The mayor emphasized that even if the strike is related to these payments, the organizational actions do not comply with the Constitution, which is what displeases him.
"I note with great pain that today 32 workers were fired - these are 32 families," Avinyan said, again emphasizing that this process was supported by the opposition.
According to him, the opposition intended to start a new movement based on the current process, blaming the drivers for facing this situation for this very reason. Avinyan added that in some cases there is no alternative to using harsh measures, specifying that this was exactly such a case.
The head of the capital's municipality also stated that revising the level of salaries of bus drivers is not a priority at the moment. He noted that before returning to this issue, there are many other places where salaries need to be raised, emphasizing that he did not make such a promise and that salaries had already been raised earlier.
Touching on the question of why no one from the city hall came to the protesters, Avinyan said that they cannot and do not intend to speak on the same topic many times. He assured that people were deprived of black income that was not intended for them.
Answering the question about the drivers who were left without work and have families, Avinyan noted that if there is a reason to consider their cases, they will be discussed. However, the city administration's general approach to this issue will not change, no matter how harsh it may sound.
Speaking about the availability of a sufficient number of drivers to replace those fired, Avinyan noted that there are about 50 drivers with category "D" licenses in Armenia and considers their capabilities to be quite broad. Avinyan again shifted the blame to opposition MPs, pointing out that some of them could have pushed the drivers to such actions.
At the same time, the mayor of Yerevan avoided explaining the principle by which they fired these drivers. "It will be difficult to say who is protesting and who is not, and who is just gathering from the sidelines or trying to get additional dividends. I am not saying that this process can stop; it can continue. We are not going to tolerate such an attitude," Avinyan said, avoiding a clear answer.
He also noted that it is necessary to recognize that such changes do not always go smoothly and such situations are expected. At the same time, he added that drivers who have not yet been fired and are returning to work should continue everything as before. "Our transport sector is already burdened, and there is no point in burdening it even more."
According to him, their only proposal is that those who want to work simply return to their activities, since they have no other proposals. "Transportation in Yerevan will operate; perhaps the frequency will be slightly reduced. But I tell you honestly: if necessary, we ourselves will go and get into the cars, call on people in these difficult times to pick up people from bus stops. I do not see any problem here. And I think people understand why this process is so important - so that we establish some kind of order and norms of integrity in the bus sector, which did not exist before," Avinyan concluded.
The drivers of the Yerevan Bus CJSC refused to go on routes early in the morning of December 3, demanding better working conditions. Thousands of Yerevan residents found themselves in a difficult situation, forced to wait for hours for the rare buses that did not join the strike. The situation was aggravated by the lack of transport and the rise in taxi prices. The mayor's office did not find a better solution to the problem than firing the drivers and making threats.