Epress.am News from Armenia
A portion of the monthly salaries of employees of state institutions (schools, universities, ministries, and medical institutions) were withheld in January. Some employees of state institutions informed Epress.am that when they attempted to find out what happened, they were told that mandatory pension payments stipulated by law were withheld.
Recall, the Constitutional Court suspended application of the law until it issues a final ruling in March, but RA Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artem Asatryan yesterday stated in parliament that by the Court's decision only employees are exempt from sanctions, while the obligations of employers have not changed.
A majority of employees of state institutions were not informed of the deductions and were not asked which of the two pension funds they preferred their payments to go to. In one of the universities, employees were informed through a special decree that the withheld amount will be returned if the Constitutional Court on Mar. 28 decides to repeal the law.