ArmInfo. In Armenia, the minimum wage will be increased up to 68 thousand drams. Amendments to the Laws "On the Minimum Wage" and "On Remuneration of Persons Holding Public Positions" were adopted at the meeting of the RA National Assembly on November 19 in the second and final reading.
According to the co-author of the presented document, MP of the National Assembly Varazdat Karapetyan, no proposals were received from the deputy corps for the second reading. Together with the government, minor editorial changes were made to the document. Varazdat Karapetyan noted that initially it was planned to increase the minimum wage from the current 55 thousand drams to 63 thousand drams, however, the government suggested setting a rate of 68 thousand drams, which the deputies agreed. The calculations are made taking into account the indicators of the minimum consumer basket. The innovation, which will enter into force on January 1, 2020, will affect 63 thousand employees of the public sector, and 130 thousand - private. According to the deputy, as a result of a survey conducted among 1,500 entities, it turned out that the private sector favors an increase in the minimum wage to 90 thousand drams, however, taking into account the existing risks, the Cabinet of Ministers stopped at around 68 thousand drams, which will lead to state budget expenditures in the amount not exceeding 2 billion drams. The document will be valid until December 31, 2020, after which it will be revised again in the direction of increasing the minimum wage.
Taking into account the indicators of the minimum consumer basket, there was also a need to amend the law "On Remuneration for Employees in Public Positions", which will increase wage rates for individuals in public positions. For example, a deputy's salary is formed on the basis of the base salary multiplied by ten. If the minimum wage will be 68 thousand drams, the actual - 88 thousand drams, then the amount multiplied by 10 will amount to 880 thousand drams.
In turn, the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Arman Udumyan informed about the government's intentions to develop mechanisms for indexing wages so that further there is no need for constant legislative changes. This work will begin in 2020. An increase in wages will make it possible to reduce the level of extreme poverty in the country by 9.1% points.