A pilot employment program for people with disabilities has been launched in Armenia, RA Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security Jemma Baghdasaryan told a press conference. She reported that two enterprises employ people with disabilities in Armenia.

The new program is based on Lithuanian and Swedish experience. “We thus want to resolve the social integration problem of people with disabilities” Baghdasaryan said. She said that enterprises employing disabled people may receive tax benefits. Baghdasaryan reported that 175,000 disabled people are registered in Armenia, with 114,000 of them being of working age. The disregard of disabled people’s interests during the construction of housing and operation of transport is another problem.

Armen Alaverdyan, Chairman of the Unison NGO, said that the owners of elite residential buildings refuse to adapt them for chairbound people. “We sometimes make attempts to persuade the owners of the magnificent buildings to provide them with ramps and wider doorways, but they say it means additional expenses,” Alaverdyan said.

The RA Ministry of Labor and Social Security has announced a monthly campaign to attract public attention to disable people’s problems. The campaign will be conducted in Yerevan, Gyumri and Spitak.