On 21 March, a group of Tajik workers stood near the government building again with the demand that the government oblige their employer to pay their overdue salaries. They had come a couple of weeks ago, but the issue remains unsolved.

The Tajiks came to Armenia in May 2018 and wove cotton in the Arax village of Armavir Province for Uzbek Textile Group LLC. According to them, they worked until December 2018, but only received salaries for three months. Now the employer owes them more than $25,000.

“We have come here to protest. Our families are waiting for us in Tajikistan, and our children are hungry. The government shouldn’t cheat us. If there is a law in Armenia, the government should pay us,” the cotton weavers said.

The Tajik cotton weavers haven’t been working for the past three months and can’t go back to Tajikistan since they don’t have any money and have to pay off debts.

According to them, the company blames them for working poorly, but the Tajiks say they worked even on weekends.