Bonuses for officials in Armenia are carried out within the law on the 2019 state budget, which was adopted by the Armenian parliament, said PM Nikol Pashinyan Wednesday at the parliament.

According to the law on the 2019 state budget, the creation of a 30% bonus fund is envisaged, from which bonuses are paid to Armenian officials, he said.

Moreover, the law on remuneration of civil servants, is practically not valid, and the salary scale has long been violated, he said.

“Last year, as a result of the scandal with bonuses in the process of discussing the draft state budget, an agreement was reached on the formation of a bonus fund for persons holding public positions, including for Armenian parliament MPs, while NSS and Police officials, for example, do not receive bonuses. They simply had they salaries raised,” he noted.

According to him, thanks to the bonus, the Minister of Emergency Situations Felix Tsolakyan received a salary of AMD 6 million in May, June, July and August. The same amount was indicated in the case of the Minister of the Environment Erik Grigoryan. Meanwhile, the salaries of public servants are determined by law.

According to the law on remuneration of civil servants, the minister’s salary ratio is 12. And based on the coefficient established by the law, the salary of the deputy minister was supposed to be AMD 562 thousand 160, but in fact it turned out to be equal to AMD 1 million 60 thousand, while the salary of the Secretary General increased to AMD 870 thousand.