Armenia proposes reduction in working hours

Armenia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has proposed reducing working hours from eight to seven hours per day. The proposal was met with significant support online, while others have drawn attention to widespread labour rights violations in the country.

The ministry published its proposal on the government’s unified platform for publishing draft legal acts — a website that allows users to provide feedback on draft laws and resolutions.

The proposal would cut working hours in both the private and public sectors from the current eight hours a day to seven, while not affecting current salaries. The changes would also reduce the maximum allowable working hours from 12 to 11 hours per day, which, unlike the current regulations, would not include breaks.

In addition, the ministry proposed cutting the allowed working hours for minors. For 12 to 14-year-olds, instead of the current limit of twelve hours a week, the proposal mandates a maximum of eight hours a week. For the 14 to 16 age group, their working hours would be reduced from 24 hours a week to 20. Finally, for 16 to 18-year-olds, their working hours would be cut from 36 hours to 32 hours a week.

The ministry said that the proposal is aimed at improving employees’ work-life balance, reducing their stress, and allowing them to spend more time with their families.

It added that it would contribute to increasing work efficiency, productivity, and the creation of new jobs in both public and private sectors.

The proposal notes that the transition to an eight-hour workday first came about in the mid-19th century at the request of the labour movement, but that technological advances have automated many processes, pushing various European countries to reduce work hours.

The ministry also cited studies by the World Health Organisation that showed long working hours can cause cardiovascular diseases and increase depression and stress.

The draft legislation had received an approval rating of 97% on the platform as of Monday afternoon.

‘Merciless and undignified exploitation’

However, the proposal was met with some criticism, with some saying that it fails to address already existing labour violations in the country.

Gagik Makaryan, an economist and a member of the Employers’ Union, told Factor TV that Armenia’s workforce and equipment were not skilled or good enough for the proposals.

‘If some countries have moved to seven hours, it is only because productivity is really high there, the workforce is very skilled, works very quickly, and their equipment is good. In Armenia, the level of automation is low’, he said.

‘We may be solving a social or health problem with this [proposal], or we are simply courting people,’ Makaryan said.

Political analyst Hakob Badalyan agreed that Armenia has not economically reached a point allowing it to reduce working hours, seeing this move as a political stunt ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections.

In his Facebook post, Badalyan drew attention to widely violated labour rights, which he described as ‘the merciless and undignified exploitation of a huge part of the labour force in Armenia’.

Multiple journalistic investigations have revealed various labour rights violations, including people working with no contracts or employers depriving their employees of the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the content of their work contracts. There are also reports of poor working conditions, with many having to work overtime for low salaries and short breaks.

Badalyan said that Armenian workers are ‘forced to work 10–12 hours, sometimes more, and work on Saturdays and even Sundays’, and are only afforded one day off a month and are not appropriately allowed to use their vacation days.

‘It is easier to simply announce a reduction in working hours, which will primarily concern people who, to put it mildly, are not the most overloaded segment in terms of working hours’, Badalyan wrote.