AiVOOVOn Friday, employees of the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC) began a strike in demand of better working conditions and pay. The company and its trade union have claimed the strike was held ‘in violation of the labour legislation’ and the strikers’ demands were ‘unrealistic’.
The company and union issued a joint statement, claiming that the employees made ‘an ultimatum demand’ for the wage increase, and had ‘sabotaged the working process’ by initiating the strike. As a result, ‘the company and the remaining employees have suffered significant material damage’, the statement read.
‘The ZCMC LLC Trade Union does not consider these actions to be a strike and does not support them, deeming them illegal’, read the statement.
They noted that if the strike continues, the mining company ‘will be forced to send a significant number of employees on compulsory leave’ and also vowed to ‘exercise its right to hold those who violate their work obligations accountable’ in accordance with the work discipline chapter of the Armenian Labor Code.
On Saturday, the Union of Miners and Metallurgists of Armenia issued a statement, calling on the strikers ‘to present their demands legally, without disrupting the normal operation of the company’.
The Zangezur Combine is the largest tax-paying company in Armenia, with the Armenian government owning 21.8% of the total shares — 15% of the shares were granted to the government in 2021 by Industrial Company, while another 6.8% were granted by AMP Holding in 2022.
Epress reported that ‘all ore mines and processing factories are halted’, and as of Sunday morning, the strikers ‘blocked the exit for trucks carrying finished metal concentrate to Yerevan’.
According to RFE/RL, the strikers and the factory’s management had around a two hour meeting on Friday, mediated by Kajaran Mayor Manvel Paramazyan, ‘but no constructive dialogue was achieved’.
Paramazyan told RFE/RL that the company was inclined to raise wages by 20%, which the employees did not agree with.
In their statement, Zangezur Combine noted that the average salary in the Syunik region, where the mine was located, ‘is the second highest after the capital, thanks to the industry, mainly the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC)’.
The company also said it provides its workers with a variety of other benefits and perks. However, the full scale of the impact of the environmental pollution caused by the mining, as well as the effects of poor working conditions on the health of the miners and the residents of Kajaran remains unclear.
Regardless of the claims by the company about the benefits provided, the strikers apparently do not believe they are sufficient, and according to Epress, they have demanded progressive raises based on their current salaries.
‘Specifically, those earning less than ֏300,000 ($755) are asking for a 40% raise, those earning between ֏300,000 ($755) and ֏500,000 ($,1258) want a 30% raise, and those making between ֏500,000 ($1,258) and ֏1 million ($2,516) are requesting a 20% increase’, Epress reported.
The protesters, describing their working conditions as ‘inhumane’, vowed that until their working conditions were not improved, the mine would not operate.
In an interview with RFE/RL, some protesters complained that the factory's management owns luxury cars, while they were deprived of ventilation, as a result of which they breathe toxic air.
The strikers have launched a closed and secret voting in two locations in Kajaran, where the mine is located, since Sunday afternoon, with around 2,000 employees of the mine casting their ballots. The ballot contains one question — ‘Do you support the strike demanding a wage increase and improved working conditions?’ with an option to choose ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
RFE/RL has reported that the aim of the vote was to show that the management of the mine was ‘misleading the public when it claims that only 7-8% of the combine’s employees are demanding a salary increase and improved working conditions’. In turn, the company told RFE/RL that they would express their position after the voting was over.
A preliminary agreement to hold a meeting between the strikers and the director of the Combine, Andrei Sinyakov, has been reached, scheduled to be held on Monday afternoon after the ballots have been counted.
In February 2024, the US Department of Treasury sanctioned GeoProMining, a company reportedly owned by a Russian family with close ties to President Vladimir Putin.
GeoProMining Armenia’s subsidiary company, the Industrial Company, owns 60% of the shares in the Zangezur Combine. The company also owns GeoProMining Gold, which operates the Sotk gold mine, the Ararat Gold extraction factory, and the Agarak Combine.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
Earlier this week, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that they were taking ‘practical steps’ for the opening of the ‘Zangezur Corridor’.
The EU Mission in Armenia has been the subject of both Azerbaijani and Russian criticism since its deployment in early 2023.
Pashinyan’s government has previously been accused of promoting Armenian Genocide denial.
Azerbaijan dismissed the statement, calling it ‘completely baseless and ridiculous’.
Subscribe to our newsletter
