ArmInfo. The legislative initiative of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia to reduce the working day to 7 hours a day (currently 8 hours) and, accordingly, from 40 to 35 hours a week, while maintaining wages, is not supported by sufficient research and scientific argumentation. At the same time, it contains many risks for the development of the economy and human capital. This is the position of the Mantashyants business club.
The draft law was recently posted on the website of legislative initiatives e-draft.am on December 19 for public and expert discussion. 861 people have already voted for it, 31 against. According to the authors of the draft, who refer to the experience of France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Norway and Iceland, reducing working hours will not have a negative impact on the economy. Moreover, it will contribute to increased productivity. , - the rationale for the draft law says. It is noted that the World Health Organization has published studies showing that long working hours can cause cardiovascular diseases, contribute to depression and stress.
Meanwhile, as Mantashyants believes, the document is of concern because, first of all, it lacks an impact assessment, which is necessary for an initiative of such a scale. , they noted.
The Union experts also noted methodological errors.
However, in all countries with GDP per capita close to Armenia (from 7,000 to 15,000 US dollars GDP per capita), such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Argentina, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Peru, Belarus, China, etc., the duration of working hours is 40-48 hours and not less>, they pointed out. Thus, the ministry compared .
In they note that even in developed countries the results of reducing working hours are not clear. There are areas where such changes have yielded positive results, and there are those where - on the contrary, which indicates that the long-term consequences of reducing working hours have not yet been fully studied. For example, reducing the working day in Sweden had a negative impact on GDP.
Meanwhile, the Union believes that the real problems of the Armenian labor market are ignored.
Increasing free time may be important in developed countries such as France or Sweden, but in Armenia the priority issues are different, for example, the ability to cover the costs of the minimum consumer basket>, they noted.
In addition, experts fear that in practice, there is a real threat of a decrease in wages or no increase. , they specified.
does not consider the argument of the Ministry of Labor that this regulation will contribute to the growth of labor productivity to be convincing. They note that labor productivity in Armenia has been growing sharply in recent years, and the growth rate is unlikely to accelerate. At the same time, in terms of labor productivity, the Republic of Armenia is still in a very bad position compared to other countries, and the reduction of working hours will weaken the competitiveness and sustainability of the Armenian economy, which is unacceptable in the context of modern challenges. Thus, working hours in Turkey are 45 hours a week, in Iran - 44 hours, in Georgia, Azerbaijan and all other EAEU countries - 40 hours.
At the same time, they emphasize, the application of the law will lead to the establishment of unequal conditions and unfair competition between honest and unscrupulous businesses. , - the Union summarized.
