YEREVAN. – The former employees of Nairit chemical rubber plant of Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan, and who demand their unpaid salaries, will stage a protest on May 5, outside the Office of the President.

These Nairit ex-workers, who on Friday held a demonstration at Liberty Square—and whom the police did not permit to approach the building of the Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet to try to meet with President Serzh Sargsyan who was entering the building—marched to the Republic Square, where they ended their protest action.

The plant’s former employees wanted to personally meet with, and express their complaint to, the President— who had gone to the Opera and Ballet building to attend a concert devoted to the May 1 International Workers’ Day—because, in their words, they do not have other opportunities to meet with the President, and therefore they are able to express their complaints to him solely through letters.

As reported earlier, a total of 1,700 Nairit workers were formally discharged as of February 6. At this point, the total debt of Nairit chemical rubber plant—which no longer operates—amounts to 102 billion drams (approx. $215,184,825). Around $15 million of these arrears are the 18 to 24 months of unpaid wages of the plant employees.

The workers have assembled outside the Government Building and the Office of the President numerous times, and demanded a solution to their salary-related problems.