YEREVAN. – The former employees of Nairit Chemical Factory—in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan—will begin an open-ended sit-in outside the Government Building on Thursday, and demand immediate payment of their wage arrears.

The workers, who have assembled outside the plant since Wednesday morning, informed that, according to an agreement reached with the Nairit management, on this day they will start the signing of agreements regarding the waiving of penalties and fines for the delay in the payment of their outstanding salaries. And their salaries shall be paid several days thereafter.

But considering the Nairit management and the government track-records of unfulfilled promises in the past, the plant employees will start an open-ended sit-in outside the Government Building on Thursday, and demand that everyone’s wage arrears be transferred by no later than July 24.

Pursuant to the aforesaid agreement, the Nairit ex-workers are obligated to waive the requirement to also pay the penalties and fines for the delay in the payment of their outstanding salaries, and as a result, they will receive solely the principal amount of their unpaid wages.

Even though the government had pledged to pay all the salaries by Wednesday, July 15, no respective money has yet been transferred to the bank account of any Nairit employee.

The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Yervand Zakharyan, had recently met with a group of former employees of Nairit. He had 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 Wednesday, 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.

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.