YEREVAN. – Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan confirmed, during his talk Tuesday with several former workers of Nairit chemical rubber plant of capital city of Yerevan, that the President had instructed to pay the Nairit employees’ outstanding wages by no later than July 15.

Nairit former Press Secretary Anush Harutyunyan told the aforementioned to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“The PM also said they don’t want the plant to be closed, and if there will be major investors, they will do everything for the plant to work,” she noted, in particular.

Harutyunyan added that the PM promised to have another one-month salary paid by June 15.

The Nairit employees welcomed this news with enthusiasm, and they will not be staging protests for the time being.

As reported earlier, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Yervand Zakharyan, on Tuesday met with a group of former employees of Nairit. He told them there was a discussion with the President and the Prime Minister on the Nairit issue, and upon the President’s instruction, the wage debts shall be paid by no later than July 15.

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.