"You have to work not 12 hours a day, but with your head"

Steve Jobs

The Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia welcomes and supports the draft laws "On Amendments and Supplements to the Labor Code of the Republic of Armenia" and "On Amendments to the Law "On Minimum Monthly Wage" submitted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, as:

- Reducing working hours will help improve the quality of work, maintain the mental and physical health of workers and improve the quality of life. When workers have enough time to rest, they can recuperate and work more efficiently during working hours;

- This is an active step towards the social component, which is a constitutional obligation, since the Republic of Armenia is a social state;

- Employers are obliged to provide a decent working environment and organize such a distribution of labor as a result of which the employee can effectively perform his/her function in fewer working hours;

- In conditions of low wages and disproportionate inflation, one of the most common violations is overloading workers, failure to involve replacement workers, even when the worker is on annual or unpaid leave, the replacement worker in many cases has to do double work - work and not receive remuneration;

- As for the reduction of holidays and non-working days, this is also done to the detriment of the worker, but provides double profits for employers, since in areas where they work both at weekends and holidays, employers paid less;

Therefore, this policy has not led to an increase in the well-being of citizens living and working in Armenia; on the contrary, in conditions of incredible inflation, salaries are not indexed and the number of working poor in Armenia remains high.

In addition, long working hours and workload lead to psychological and physical fatigue and stress, which leads to an increase in industrial accidents, including fatal ones, and an increase in occupational diseases; whereas, according to Article 82 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, "every employee has the right to healthy, safe and decent working conditions, daily and weekly rest, as well as annual paid leave in accordance with the law."

Modern technologies allow the same work to be done quickly and efficiently. This means that work takes less time.

As for the growth of GDP, it is due rather to intensive migration flows and effective policies in this area and other processes than to a reduction in the number of holidays and non-working days. Trade unions support this project, since the social policy of the state should be aimed at improving the standard of living and, first of all, the welfare of citizens living and working in the RA should be taken into account, and not just the profit. business.

Any business and economy cannot develop without a working person, and, ultimately, it is necessary to recognize that the worker is not at tool and deserves decent working and living conditions.

Only citizens who are provided with decent work can become a guarantor of the security and stability of the state, only then is social justice possible. There is no alternative to this approach.