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Zangezur Mine Workers Demand Pay Raises, Strike Enters Third Day

Armenia’s largest mine, the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC), has been at a standstill for three days as workers have gone on strike. All ore mines and processing factories are halted, and since this morning, the strikers have also blocked the exit for trucks carrying finished metal concentrate to Yerevan. According to local miners, this strike is unprecedented in the 70-year history of the mine. The combine operates around the clock, with four shifts, only stopping briefly for accidents or necessary repairs.

The strikers, primarily laborers, are demanding a pay raise, with a progressive increase based on current salaries. Specifically, those earning less than 300,000 drams are asking for a 40% raise, those earning between 300,000 and 500,000 drams want a 30% raise, and those making between 500,000 and 1 million drams are requesting a 20% increase. Workers earning over 1 million drams are calling for a review of their salaries, not leaving the decision to the managers.

The strikers are frustrated that management refuses to engage with their concerns. “A thousand people are standing in front of the factory, and they won’t even come talk to us,” says one miner. “They’ve told us, ‘If you don’t want to work, don’t. We’ll bring in other laborers—Indians and Tajiks.’ We tell them, either we work and get decent pay, or no one will work in this mine,” says Rudik, a 40-year-old miner.

Since the strike began, workers have set up a voting station at the mine site, where they can vote to join the strike. It’s estimated that around 2,000 of the mine’s 4,500 employees have joined, making the legality of the strike a non-issue.

The workers’ demand for better pay is non-negotiable, given the grueling and hazardous conditions they face. The ore-crushing factory is filled with dust levels exceeding safety limits, and the constant vibration from machinery damages both hearing and mental well-being.

“Does anyone know that 70% of our laborers have undergone cardiac catheterization? Young men in their 40s. Why should they have to deal with such health problems? We’re ruining our health here, and our demand for a pay rise is unconditional,” says Vardan, one of the strikers․